The Allamakee SWCD sponsored the 40th annual Conservation Education Day on Thursday, May 4 in the Waukon City Park.  An estimated 88 Allamakee County sixth-graders from Waukon Middle School and St. Pat’s attended the event.  The weather was great and the morning was filled with many fun activities.

We were once again able to have Russ Hagen (Allamakee SWCD volunteer) teach a canoeing station with assistance from Kerry Troendle and Jeremy Leitz from the Allamakee County FSA office.  The students learned how to get in and out of a canoe safely and enjoyed floating on the Indian Springs Pond.   The students had fun and no one fell in.

Sara Berges from the Allamakee SWCD and Megan Waechter from the Allamakee NRCS presented a station about soil and water conservation.  Topics included the importance of protecting our soil and water, potential pollution sources, and conservation practices.  Watersheds were discussed using an Enviroscape model to show how water carries pollution through a watershed to a body of water.  A runoff demonstration compared what happens when rain falls on a bare soil versus a soil with plant cover. The students discussed soil formation, soil erosion, and soil components and then made edible “soil” cups using crushed up cookies to represent different sized soil particles, pudding to represent organic matter and glomalin (soil “glue”), and gummy worms to represent soil biota.

Ross Geerdes from Allamakee County Conservation talked to the students about native animals and their habitats.  The kids played a game to show food, water, and habitat requirements for the animals.

Dave Asche, DNR District Forester, talked about tree planting, types of trees, determining tree ages, and tree care.  The students were each given a Colorado Blue Spruce seedling by the Allamakee SWCD to take home to plant.

New this year to Conservation Education Day was Allie Rath from Pheasants Forever.  She talked about the importance of pollinators and had the students talk about food items that we wouldn’t have without the help of pollinators.

Additional photos can be found here.