Students partake in conservation day in Navarino

Career exploration was a major emphasis for fifth grade students
By: 
Luke Reimer
Reporter

Students at Sacred Heart Catholic School, Olga Brenner Intermediate School, St. James Lutheran School and Gresham Community School got a crash course in environmental education on Sept. 15.

The Navarino Nature Center hosted the Shawano County Youth Conservation Field Day, where experts at nine different stations throughout the nature center taught students about topics concerning environmental conservation. Those key points included wetlands, animal pelts and soil among other topics.

“This is a field trip for fifth grade students in Shawano County,” said Shawano County Conservationist Scott Frank. “It has been successful — we have got positive remarks from teachers and principals.”

A major point of emphasis that Frank wanted to get across to the students was talking about careers in conservation for the students down the line.

“In fifth grade, they typically have a segment about career exploration,” said Frank. “They take a survey to see what interests them. We have every presenter talk about their career and how they got there. The presenters just talk about the realm of possibilities in their career path.”

Another point that Frank wanted to exhibit was the different aspects of environmental education.

“You try to come up with some of the bigger areas of environmental subject matter, like our forests, our wildlife, our wetlands and soils and our conservation wardens,” said Frank.

He added that with including talks surrounding conservation wardens, the students also learn a little more than just the environment.

“With our warden topic — the teachers really liked it,” said Frank. “They incorporated a little bit of boater’s safety and ATV safety as a part of their talk.”

At each station, students were taught about specific topics in each area of study. Those topics ranged from forest management to alternative energy to invasive species.

“This year, regardless of the first session or the last session, the students were all energetic, enthused and into the topic and program that we engaged on together,” said Frank.

Shawano County Field Day started in 2013, with just Olga Brener attending. That has since grown to include other schools. Frank said that the idea of hosting Youth Conservation Field Day came from the lack of environmental education for students.

“We knew that there was a gap in environmental education,” said Frank. “When we originally met, we talked with the Navarino Nature Center because they have youth programming with the schools and students coming out at different age groups, but didn’t have the fifth-grade age group.”

Frank said that he was approached by local teachers, who came from different school districts, in 2010 asking why Shawano County did not have a Youth Conservation Field Day.

“That is why in 2012, we took it real serious to figure out what to do,” said Frank. “I went and visited Waupaca, Marinette and Outagamie Counties to see how they held theirs. In Outagamie County, they have got it where they invite all of the schools over three consecutive days. The challenge with that is that you can’t have every presenter take all three days.”

In order to reach more schools in Shawano County, a field day was started in the Wittenberg area earlier this year, to include schools in Wittenberg, Birnamwood and Bowler.

“We are trying to eventually get there to have as many schools as possible come,” said Frank.

After hosting both events in two different areas of the county, Frank said that the difference comes from those who attend.

“Around Shawano, you are getting a lot more kids that aren’t growing up in the rural area,” said Frank. “Regardless of if they came from Gresham or Olga Brener, they were very observant of what the landscape looked like at the nature center. That is what I want them to learn.”


lreimer@newmedia-wi.com