Kids learn about outdoor life, and how to protect it
It’s a perfect day of school for most kids — learning hands-on about Mother Nature, while in the field.
The great outdoors means freedom and fun for the average kid, but it’s paramount that they also learn how to be safe, and how to balance and preserve the environment for their own health and enjoyment — as well as for the children of the future.
About 20 instructors from local agencies were on hand for two days at the Falls Country Club for the 37th Annual Outdoor Education Days.
“We may have been doing this the longest in the state,” said John Prettyman, Falls fifth grade teacher.
The instructors were there to teach area fifth graders delivered by bus from International Falls, Littlefork, Indus and Northome, the intricacies and mysteries of the greater outside world.
On an extremely windy Wednesday, early golfers dotted the greens on the Falls golf course as the sun did its best to poke through crowded clouds. The noble Rainy River shone, newly adorned with spring’s splendor.
Representatives from Forest Capital Partners, Voyageurs National Park, the Department of Natural Resources Fisheries, Koochiching County Environmental Services and Land and Forest Department, and Boise Inc. were set up at six kid-friendly stations to talk about forest management, boat safety, fish management, pollution, orienteering in the woods, and paper making.
In a rotation, small groups of fifth graders moved from station to station. In various locations, including along the Rainy River, they learned about the differences and proper usage of different types of flotation gear and boating safety; the complexities of soil, insects, seeds and tree life in the forests; the health of fish, and how to stay oriented or survive if lost in the woods.
They also participated hands-on in a mini paper-making process, guided by employees of Boise Inc. who illustrated paper manufacturing — starting with sticks of wood and taking them through pulping, dyeing, rolling and drying stations.
To convey the destruction of pollution to the outside environment, a tiny set served as a visual aid, featuring streams and lakes, farms and fields, industries, vehicles, and animal and human life. The children were asked to dump salt, sugar, litter and other pollutants in that environment, as well as spray water to imitate rainfall. This opened discussion about the importance of balancing chemicals and nutrients in the landscape for healthful life conditions.
