In 2013, our District continued our strong educational efforts. Two field day/workshops stood out in 2013 as examples of our efforts:
1) The Steuben County Soil and Water Conservation District and The Steuben County Cooperative Extension Service hosted our annual Youth Conservation Field Day for the Fremont and MSD School Districts at Pokagon State Park on Tuesday, September 10, 2013. Two hundred and ninety eight fourth graders from these school districts enjoyed time away from their regular school day learning about several areas of conservation. Topics included a Wildlife interactive session with Marjorie Hershman from Pokagon State Park; a Forestry presentation by Hank Hefner, IDNR District Forester; a demonstration on Fish Management from Larry Koza, Fisheries Biologist from the Fawn River Fish Hatchery; Entomology and 4-H Natural Resource Projects from Extension Educator, Tami Mosier; Soil Education and demonstration from Hilary Barnhart, Soil Conservationist with The Natural Resources Conservation Service; a presentation on water quality and science fair projects by Janet Bohney from the Steuben County Lakes Council; and a general session about Recycling right before lunch with the Dumpster Drummers, an environmental educational music group from Fort Wayne. The program began at 9:00 am at the park with students attending 20 minute sessions with each speaker. Weather for the day was beautiful and the children were able to enjoy the gorgeous Lake James setting at the Park. As the day progressed, temperatures soared into the 90’s; making the two sessions following the lunch break a little uncomfortable. The day ended around 1:30 pm, so everyone could get back to school before dismissal. The Northeast Indiana Solid Waste District sponsored the Recycling session with the Dumpster Drummers this year bringing a new facet to the day. Educational materials and Activity Books were sent to the schools as reinforcement material to use as a follow-up on the field day education. The Soil and Water Conservation District, City of Angola, Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Committee, Steuben County Lakes Council, and Purdue Extension office sponsored these materials. The Youth Conservation Field Day has become an annual tradition to educate the local youth about conservation. It has been held every year, except two, for the Fremont and MSD fourth graders since 1984. The Steuben SWCD has been able to secure a SARE Youth Educator Grant for 2014 to continue to expand this very successful field day.
2) The second annual Lake Life Class was hosted in 2013 by the Steuben County SWCD and the Steuben County Lakes Council, with support from Purdue Extension. We began our Lake Life program in 2012 with Lake Life 101, a six week educational workshop focusing on conservation and lake living. The workshop was so successful, that in 2013, we hosted Lake Life 102. Sessions included a presentation about the geography of Steuben County and the History of Pokagon State Park and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Representatives from several County Departments participated in a Round Table discussion during another session. An "Over, Under, and On" session featured speakers discussing sea planes, underwater rescue, and boating. Natural Shorelines and their benefits, How the Angola Wastewater Treatment Plant functions, and the County GIS system were included in a fourth session, and there was also a session on fish identification, cleaning fish, and conservation officer lake patrols. Our final session included a discussion on safe food preparation and places to visit in Steuben County, along with a catered meal. We are planning to continue the Lake Life class this fall with several field trips around the County planned. Participation in the class averages 40-45 people.
There were many other educational events we presented to the community throughout 2013. Please feel free to contact us or visit our website to find out more about these or any of our other programs.