Blue Thumb Volunteer Spotlight – Bill & Susan Henning

What inspired you to get involved with Blue Thumb?

Before retirement, Susan was the Kay County Conservation District Manager and Bill was a chemical engineer with Phillips Petroleum who oversaw several environmental projects, so looking after a stream after retirement seemed a natural thing to do. We found a good access point to Turkey Creek on city land within Bartlesville to sample.

What do you enjoy most about volunteering with Blue Thumb?

We like being outdoors and the work helps keep our skills sharp. Also, taking care of our creek feels good and we think we are making a positive difference. We have enjoyed working with Candice Miller, our volunteer coordinator in the Blue Thumb program, who makes the process fun (even bug picking).

How long have you been with the program?

We just completed our 9th year of monthly monitoring without missing a month.

Is there a memorable moment or lesson from your time with Blue Thumb that stands out?

Once we discovered an upstream waterline break during sampling (which caused a small fish kill) and reported it to the city, who quickly repaired it. Another time we uncovered a sewer main leak downstream of our sample location (the sewer main runs parallel to the creek), took additional samples, and created a report. Two teenagers participated and used it for a science fair project. The city responded and repaired the leak. Our most unusual experience was finding a 100-dollar bill floating in a pool near our sample point.

Blue Thumb Volunteer | Bill & Susan Henning