Youth Conservation Field Day

Youth Conservation Field Day

Summary

The Steuben County Soil and Water Conservation District and Purdue Extension office held our annual 4^th grade Youth Conservation Field Day (YCFD) on Tuesday, September 9^th at Pokagon State Park, near Angola, Indiana. We were grateful for the SARE Youth Educator grant which enabled us to add extra highlights to the day. Here are some key points about the YCFD:

1)      The field day includes all 4^th grade students from the Fremont Community School District and the Metropolitan School District (MSD) of Steuben County. The MSD School District includes four elementary schools (Carlin Park, Ryan Park, Hendry Park, and Pleasant Lake). Attendance this year was 306 children – The attendance each year ranges from 295 to 350 children (ages 9 to 10). This year, we also had 5 helper volunteers, 6 speakers, and a coordinator. This year was the 29^th time we have offered this field day.

2)      The children were broken into groups and rotated throughout the day among six (20 minute) sessions, which included talks on Wildlife by Pokagon State Park interpreters Fred Wooley and Marjorie Hershman; Water Safety and Conservation Officer Duties by Jake Carlisle, IDNR Conservation Officer; Fish Management by IDNR Fisheries Biologist Larry Koza, Entomology and 4H Natural Resource Projects by Tami Mosier, Purdue Extension Educator; Soils Education by Zac Martin, SWCD Resource Conservationist; and Water Quality by Janet Bohney, Retired Teacher and member of the Steuben County Lakes Council. Topics were discussed and agreed upon by current SWCD Board members, which includes two county farmers, and Purdue Extension. Our station helpers also included some of these SWCD Board members and Purdue Extension volunteers. 
        Our soils session included a short demonstration with an apple, showing the students how much of the earth is useable top soil – after slicing the apple and removing sections for water, mountains, etc., the remaining section is only 1/24 of the beginning apple – showing the students how very little of the earth is useable for growing our food. Then the presentation moves into a discussion of erosion and how crop rotation, no-till, and planting cover crops can assist with controlling erosion, and keeping the soil healthy by protecting the micro-organisms and adding beneficial nutrients to the fields. To finalize the presentation, and offer a visual display of what was discussed, erosion control boxes are used. One box is filled with bare soil and the other is filled with sod-covered ground to simulate residue and cover crops. The students are allowed to pour water over both boxes and see how erosion happens, as well as how infiltration increases when there are root paths for the water to follow, which is what happens when cover crops are planted.

3)      The objective of the workshop is to provide a day early in the school year that provides a base foundation on the topics of conservations and our valuable natural resources. We also deliver packets to the schools with educational activity books, pencils, and bookmarks which are donated by several agencies on the day before the field day. These packets compliment what we are teaching the children and can be used throughout the rest of the school year.

4)      Just before lunch, we have had the pleasure the last couple years of being able to bring the Dumpster Drummers up from Fort Wayne to perform for the children for 30-40 minutes. The Drummers are a musical group who teach about recycling by using recycled materials and dumpsters to create music – Kind of like the show “Stomp” with an educational purpose. The children love it, and think they are “awesome.” The first year, The Northeast Indiana Solid Waste District (NEISWD) sponsored them for the field day performance, but this year the SARE Youth Educator Grant assisted with half the cost. The NEISWD funded the other half.

5)      This year, as part of the grant, we also had the children take a pre-test and post-test to gauge what they have learned throughout the day.

6)      The SWCD had T-shirts made and handed them out at the end of the day.

The teachers especially love the soils session because we use the soil erosion boxes, demonstrating bare soil versus covered soil, as part of the session, which are also on the ISTEP test, so we always hear many comments about this. I have been involved with this field day since I started with the District, first as a presenter with the soil session, and now as the Coordinator of the event. It would not be possible without the help of our many partner agencies and individuals who help me conduct the event as well as donating time and educational materials.

• Dumpster Drummers2
• Dumpster Drummers
• Wildlife Session

Collaborators: