Carmel High School seniors Jillian Rang and Maya Bhagwat recently organized and led a community walk to educate participants on issues affecting the White River.
The Nov. 11 event at River Heritage Park on River Road in Carmel drew approximately 30 participants. The walk was the first event in the students’ broader project, White River Revival. Its mission is to highlight the condition of the river and encourage community engagement.
As members of the CHS DECA chapter, Rang and Bhagwat were tasked with choosing an Indiana-related topic to raise awareness.
Rang said the students formed the White River Revival project after seeing the White River Report Card, a comprehensive assessment of the river’s condition. It evaluates the river based on three categories: land, water and community. It assigns letter grades ranging from A to F based on cumulative scores.
Bhagwat said the White River scored a C. According to the White River Report Card, the score indicates the river unsuitable for recreational use.
“It’s killing fish, and there’s a lot of bacteria,” Bhagwat said. “It could cause illnesses in people, like skin rashes.”
According to the White River Alliance website, the Upper White River watershed spans more than 1.7 million acres within central Indiana across 16 counties, including Boone and Hamilton.
Rang said the community walk served as a trial event to gauge the project’s overall potential to engage participants.
Pleased with the turnout, Rang and Bhagwat said they look forward to their next campaign: a door-to-door initiative. They plan to design door hangers and visit neighborhoods, prioritizing those near water retention areas.
