VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Conservation Days, an educational event teaching local fifth graders about the importance of the environment, is underway this week at the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds.
This multi-day event is hosted by the Vigo County Soil and Water Conservation District. Over the next few days, over a thousand fifth graders from the Vigo County School Corporation will learn all things conservation at a variety of stations.
“This is a great event with over 50 volunteers, and been probably going on maybe 30 years,” said Brendan Kearns, Executive Director of Vigo County Soil and Water Conservation District.
The event first began back in 1987. Since then, thousands of students have participated in a variety of stations, learning everything from the history of agriculture to weather.
“They learn about food, they learn about hunting, they learn about agriculture, how corn is grown. A lot of key things that most kids don’t have an exposure to,” said Kearns.
Conservation Days give students the opportunity to get out of the classroom and learn with hands-on experience.
“A lot of times this is the only impact kids will have regarding a lot of these subjects, so we are very fortunate to be able to work with our school to do this,” mentioned Kearns.
This successful event wouldn’t be possible without volunteers from across the Wabash Valley.
“The fact that (volunteers) get to come out and do outreach to kids and inspire them is just an incredible thing. We’re thankful for them,” said Kearns.
With 19 different stations ranging in a variety of topics, of course, every student had their own favorites. The WTWO Weather Team was one of the stations at the event.
“We learned about soil, and rocks, and how they weather down to become soil,” said Chase Sullivan, a fifth grader at Loss Creek Elementary School.
“I got to hold chickens,” smiled Luke Hoggatt, a fifth grader at Rio Grande Elementary School.
“Every kid is going to have a different take on it. As long as they leave with a smile on their face and seeing that all of the work with all these volunteers really made a big difference,” said Kearns.
Looking ahead, the weather forecast for the rest of the week looks great for the Conservation Days. The event wraps up on Thursday, September 11th.