Mud Creek: A Hidden Gem

By Alyssa Skriloff 11/1/2022

In small, rural towns such as Durant, Iowa, there isn't usually much to see according to the general consensus. Many day-to-day things are looked over and put into one’s peripheral vision out of habit. The train tracks entertain a loud train each afternoon, the bustling traffic at 7:30 a.m. just before school starts, and quieter aspects too, such as the local creek. The creek is often unseen, and when mentioned to a local they might not even know where it is by name. On the outskirts of town, the creek runs under a bridge leading to the highway. Mud Creek, while most citizens don’t know the place by name, plays an active role in the small-town community, particularly for the students of science and art classes.

One of these roles involves the high-school students of Durant. In science teacher Mr. Andy Strunk’s Biology class, students walk across the town to the small stream to collect samples for their class.

“We’ll go to the creek for an abiotic and biotic factor activity, and we also discuss the characteristics of life, and then we can do some extensions from that in class,” says Mr. Strunk.

Students spend their time exploring the banks around the creek, collecting water samples, and gathering plant materials such as grasses and leaves to study under a microscope when the pieces are taken back to the classroom. The students generally enjoy the outside time, getting a breath of fresh air, and seeing a part of their town.

“I think it’s really good to teach students about nature at a young age and teach them about why it’s important and helping ecosystems along the way,” says Mr. Strunk. “It’s just a change of pace, it sparks interest, they’re seeing things they aren’t really used to seeing and kind of building that desire for learning.”

Science isn’t the only class where Mud Creek is involved - on the opposite side of the spectrum, art classes also utilize the local display of flora and fauna. The photography class explores the town of Durant for subjects in their art - the creek is a good source for that.

Korbyn Ryan, a senior and member of Photography, shares that “the bridge offers some fun opportunities, as well as the wildlife and the natural terrain of the area.”

The sounds of the running water and birds chirping make the area relaxing and fun as students explore the integration between art, nature, and science. Students have explored action shots, using wildlife and sometimes one another as models, still-life works using flowers and plants, and of course shots with horizon lines. The structure of the bridge also provides opportunities for different angles and perspectives.

The best photos Ryan took there utilized the architecture of the bridge to outline the horizon line of the creek and landscape. The stature of the creek also embellished any subjects he chose, and made using the “rule of thirds” quite easy with its defined horizon.

The creek’s prevalence in small-town Iowa doesn’t come without a cost though, as pollution continues to be a problem over the years. With a large farming community, the creek is prone to pollution from run-off, and because of its locality, it can also be affected by litter from residents. Classes have found empty cans, plastic bags, and even broken china on their trips.

“People understand the importance of farming and different types of practices like that, how that can actually influence Mud Creek here in Durant, because all those chemicals and pesticides, it gets carried away to different ecosystems and can cause damage and pollution to those, so we need to really understand how we can help these ecosystems here locally because they influence bigger ecosystems down the road,” says Mr. Strunk.

Pollution scandals have had their history with mud creek, including a most recent one in 2021, involving a dairy farm manure spill. Prevention plans have been put in place, and laws surrounding water pollution also protect Mud Creek. The Mud, Camp, and Spring Creek Watershed Project and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources have each taken action, such as implementing an organic enrichment and protection plan for the creek. This included identifying problems, taking samples of the water quality, identifying principal pollution factors, and continuing to monitor the health of the creek, as well as providing funding for these projects.

Overall, such a small aspect of the town, a small trail of water under a bridge leading to the highway, has positioned itself as a natural function of the community. It acts as a place of collaboration and learning about nature, art, and science. As Durant doesn’t have an outdoor classroom, it also acts as one during “mini field trips” around town. A way for students to experience nature and get a breath of fresh air locally, and continue to be protected by the community. The importance of it is clear, though its water is not - hence the name, Mud Creek.

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