Eight HERYN graduates kick off half-day sojourns down Penns Creek for early-June Blue HERYN

The annual Blue HERYN (Helping Engage our River's Youth with Nature) half-day trips down Penns Creek kicked off on June 1, 2026, with eight former HERYN graduates learning to kayak and fish together while navigating a moving waterway with potential new hazards. 

​The group stopped to explore the aquatic ecosystem more thoroughly with nets and other tools, focusing on macroinvertebrates, amphibians and other species. 

"Like the HERYN acronym suggests, this program is an extension of our effort to connect kids with nature to gain a deeper appreciation of how everything plays a key role connectedly within an aquatic ecosystem," said Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky. 

"Kids all had different parts they enjoyed ... for some the fishing, others just the unstructured exploring. All of it is tied together to develop a desire to clean up our waterways, and the kids did well in collecting quite a bit of litter along the way."

Photos from the event include: