As a way to get children on the water, the Pamlico-Tar River Foundation is hosting a 12-week Youth Kayaking Program starting in June, for kids ages nine to 18.

The Youth Kayaking Program will be twice a week and will run until the middle of August. Each kayaking trip is scheduled to have eight to 12 children on every paddle down the river.

During the summer of 2012, PTRF hosted a similar event, and this year they were able to bring the Youth Kayaking Program back after receiving a grant from the Conservation Fund, a national nonprofit focused on preserving the environment, and its program, the Creating New Economies Fund.

“They (Conservation Fund) gave us $11,200 to do youth kayaking in Beaufort, Pitt and Edgecombe Counties,” said Matt Butler, PTRF’s environmental projects manager. “We’ve hired an intern for the summer that will do two to four hour kayaking with disadvantage youth.”

The idea for the program is to get less privileged children on the water and learning about marine life habitats.

“Kids from low socioeconomic status may not have opportunities to get out on the river for whatever reason,” Butler said. “They may not have those opportunities in their communities.”

PTRF wants the kids to know about the river, farms, storm water, runoff and nutrients in the water, the effects of littering — basically, environmental education.

“… Just giving them an idea that everything that happens on land eventually ends up in the water,” Butler said.

For information about the PTRF Youth Kayaking Program contact Matt Butler at matt@ptrf.org or call 252-946-7211.