Gone creekin’

what you’re gonna find.”

Reese and her 13-year-old sister, Bella, found a salamander, crayfish, minnow and slug while searching in the water with their hands

and nets. They lifted rocks and disturbed sediment to find the small, brown salamander.

Reese and her family were also cleaning up trash in the waterway. She threw away a plastic bag and some glass because she knows it could hurt the ecosystem and doesn’t like when animals die or get hurt, she said.

Bodette’s children, 23-year-old Julie and 20-year-old Timothy, have been creeking since they were at least 6 years old. Like Reese, they like to explore the local ecosystem.

“We literally can’t count how many times we’ve been creeking,” Julie Bodette said.

Her brother is good at catching things in the creek, “It’s not readily apparent, but there’s a lot going on in the creeks.” she said. In the past, he has found live clams in the Olentangy River, instead of the usual haul of clam shells.

The Metro Park regularly holds creeking events in the river, but Saturday’s event was moved to a tributary due to the river’s high water level. Participants were advised not to venture into water that reached above their knees.

Three naturalists and a volunteer, Ruth Boucher, kept watch over the creekers Saturday. They helped identify the wildlife that participants found.

“It’s not readily apparent, but there’s a lot going on in the creeks,” added Boucher, a 17-year-old volunteer.

By the end of the hourlong event, participants had collected fly larva, marble salamanders, two-lined salamanders, water gliders, slugs, minnows and a dead centipede.

Creeking in the Olentangy River usually turns up more wildlife, so naturalist Ian Vogt, a Lewis Center resident who has hosted the event a few times this summer, encouraged anyone interested to head to the river when the water level drops back to normal.

The next creeking event at Highbanks is July 31 from 10 to 11 a.m. Those interested should bring closed-toe shoes and a change of clothes, including a pair of dry shoes. Bug spray and towels also are recommended.

Ruth Boucher, a 17-year-old volunteer

spoulin@dispatch.com @stephaterese

[BROOKE LAVALLEY/DISPATCH] Seven-year-old Jasmine Lagrasse and her mother, Chelsea, hunt for fish and insects during a “creeking” event at Highbanks Metro Park on Saturday.

[BROOKE LAVALLEY/DISPATCH PHOTOS] Participants in “creeking” get their feet wet as they hunt for wildlife in a tributary of the Olentangy River in Highbanks Metro Park on Saturday. Creeking events are held regularly in the park.

Six-year-old Ian Salinas lets a small lizard venture onto his finger from the hand of his father, Pedro.