By William Croyle
Enquirer contributor

FORT WRIGHT - A new park will open here next week. There are no swings or slides, but by all means, bring the kids.

Sanitation District No. 1 will dedicate its new Public Service Park in a private ceremony Saturday. The park opens to the public Tuesday.

It will feature an outdoor environmental education center where people of all ages can learn about storm water runoff and how to better protect the environment.

But children are the park's primary target.

"If you look at the recycling craze, that was really driven by kids," said Jeff Eger, general manager of the sanitation district. "We think they are our target audience."

More than 3,000 children from 28 elementary schools in Northern Kentucky are signed up this school year for a class at the park called "Journey of a Drop of Water."

The class will feature a look at a vegetative roof, drainage paths, water sampling, permeability of various forms of concrete and a half-mile, self-guided tour on a trail along Banklick Creek.

"We talk in class about what the sanitation department does, but we've only been able to give them pictures of it," said Beechgrove Elementary teacher Deanna Poling. "We hope this can give them the hands-on experience they need."

The fifth-graders in Poling's class will first learn about water pollution, watershed management and wetland preservation in their own classroom through a national award-winning, four-week curriculum designed by the sanitation district. The field trip to the park in February will be the culmination of the curriculum.

The park will also get support from Thomas More College and Northern Kentucky University.

Chris Lorentz, assistant professor of biology at Thomas More and the director of the Center for Ohio River Research, said students at his school will help colonize the park with fish and amphibians that are generally found in that area. He thinks it will be a hit with kids.

"The park really blew me away from the technological aspect and its ability to be an educational tool," Lorentz said. "They're presenting it to students in a neat way and hitting them at the prime age in which they will become attracted to science."

If you go

What: Public Service Park for environmental education.

Where: Sanitation District No. 1 at 1045 Eaton Drive in Fort Wright, off Ky. 17.

When: Park will be dedicated Saturday and open to the public Tuesday.

Fact: The sanitation district's sewer system covers about 178 square miles and serves more than 320,000 people (about 80 percent of the population) in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties.

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E-mail williamcroyle@yahoo.com