BRANSON, Mo. - June 8-16 is Ozarks Water Watch Week, designed to encourage people to keep out lakes, rivers, and streams clean. Several local organizations are coming up with ways to get people involved and active.
The city of Branson organized a hike to the old Owen Homestead in the woods behind Fall Creek Road in Branson Tuesday. Hikers got some educational exercise, and their classroom was the great outdoors. "We've come during the fall, during the spring, we've been up here during dogwood season, the woods are full of dogwoods," says hiker Jerry Montgomery, "The scenery is absolutely awesome and it's an easy walk."
But that's not the only reason Jerry came along. "We wanted to learn more about the area and we love it here," says Montgomery.
"We want to provide people an opportunity to get outside where they feel like they knew where they were going and learn something," says Mona Menezes, Environmental Specialist witht he city of Branson, "This is Branson's centennial year so I wanted to do something that allowed people to get outside, get near the water, and appreciate what it's taken to get to this point."
"We can come up here and go through the house, actually go through the house here at the old homestead; I've been up here on several different occasions and not been able to get in the house," says Montgomery.
She hopes hikers get an appreciation of the beauty along Ozarks waterways. "Everyone lives in a watershed no matter how far you live from a lake or a stream," says Menezes.
