Staff writer
Students from Marion County schools learned that rings tell the age of a tree, combines cost more than tractors (some even more than a home), bread made from whole-wheat flour is yummy, and erosion can change the direction of a stream, plus many other tidbits of environmental information Tuesday at the 2012 Marion County Fourth Grade EnviroFest in Marion Central Park.
“We tailor this to fourth-graders because they are learning about these things in their curriculum at school,” said organizer Peggy Blackman, Marion Reservoir Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) director. “This day just gives them a chance to get some hands-on learning about things that are part of our environment.”
Students from Marion, Hillsboro, Centre, Peabody, Cottonwood Grove Christian School, and home schools got an up-close look at making topsoil, preventing erosion, determining water quality by counting little creatures in streams and ponds. They also learned about the importance of trees to the environment, what can be done to keep water clean, and how wheat harvest happens.
The third annual event ended with lunch and playtime in the park for some of the students, other went back to their schools for regular class time.
Station presenters included Doug Spencer, Natural Resource Conservation Service; Matt Meyerhoff, district conservationist; Lloyd Davies, Marion Reservoir environmentalist; Dennis Carlson, Kansas State forester; Tonya Richards, Marion County sanitarian; Scott Jones, Water Quality Initiative Coordinator, and Mary Beth Bower, Kansas Wheat Commission.