At 81, Richard Wheeler is making waves for clean water with a 28-day kayaking trip around Buzzards Bay.

In partnership with the Buzzards Bay Coalition, a nonprofit that works to protect the bay and its watershed, Wheeler started his trip in Westport on Saturday, May 19.

Armed with a GPS that allows kids around the 281-mile stretch to track his progress online, the Onset resident hopes to teach that “it’s important to make a lifelong promise to keep water clean.”

“We’ve got to worry about it. Everything is connected,” said Wheeler. “I’m trying to make people aware that the watershed is what we need to worry about, not just the people who live on the coast, but even people who live in Taunton.”

For that reason, Wheeler routed his trip up several waterways that feed into the bay, including the Mattapoisett River.

But, rather than kayaking straight through and camping along the way, as he has done on previous expeditions, Wheeler is taking the trip at shorter intervals.

“Three hours a day is a good amount of time for a geezer,” he said.

This time frame also allowed him to visit schools and other groups along each leg of his trip.

Wheeler arrived at Mattapoisett’s YMCA on Thursday, May 31 to talk with a group of kids in the after school program.

And while Wheeler said he is interested in learning from students, they were more interested in his adventures kayaking around Cape Cod, Hawaii and Canada.

The students peppered him with questions: “Is the boat comfortable? Have you ever seen a shark? Have you ever seen a turtle?”

Answers: “Yes, very comfortable. Yes, but that’s something you’d rather not see. And yes, lots of them.”

To reinforce the idea of a connected coast, Wheeler gave the kids a “Bay neighbor” gift from the students at his last pit stop.

They, in turn, sent him off with their favorite shells from the beach, which will be delivered to Carver School on the Weweantic River.