A Well-rounded education in conservation

A well-rounded education in conservation
By Melissa White, Editor Hi-Line Enterprise/Eustis News
reprinted with permission of Hi-Line Enterprise

Ninety fifth-graders from Southwest, Maywood, Hitchcock County-Culbertson, Hitchcock County-Stratton, Wauneta-Palisade and Medicine Valley gathered in Curtis on Wednesday, September 21, for a fun day of Outdoor Education.

Photo by Melissa White, Hi-Line Enterprise

The students spent the day at eight stations learning all aspects of conservation: a Natural Resources District tour through the office, dripial pursuit, trees, wildlife, land treatment, well done wells, Fantastic Fun River Run, and soils. The event is sponsored and presented by the Middle Republican Natural Resources District, in partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Common Scents Greenhouse and Nursery, Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture, Nebraska Well Drillers Association, and Nebraska Raptor Recovery.

In honor of the annual event’s 10th anniversary, the students participated in a contest to determine a new name for the day, instead of Frontier County 5th Grade Outdoor Education Day. The students from Wauneta-Palisade came up with the winning entry “Conservation Craze.” Their classroom won a collection of 18 samples of some of the more common rocks and minerals found in Nebraska and a book by Roger Welsch called The Summer It Rained: Water and Plains Pioneer Humor.

The prize of samples and book was also awarded to Medicine Valley for scoring a perfect score at the Fantastic Fun River Run station. Hitchcock County-Culbertson eared the book and a Groundwater Atlas of Nebraska for earning the highest points at the Dripial Pursuit Station.

“The success of conservation and natural resources protection efforts depends on both individual and community actions,” stated Kara Gall, Information and Education Coordinator for Middle Republican NRD. “We present the students with hands-on activities, tours, and exhibits so that they can discover their potential for environmental stewardship. They learn how working together can impact natural resources conservation.”

Related Links
View KNOP's story of the event. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9429504/

September 30, 2005