Conservation Corner

By PR Conservation District

What a day of fun! After moving to the fair barn due to rain and smoky conditions, Mrs. Zellers' third grade class was treated to a day of learning and fun. The class learned about various wildlife tracks and how to preserve them using plaster of Paris from PRCD Supervisor, Gene Smith. The students were even able to create casts of their own handprints to take home! Corey Swenson, retired NRCS Rangeland Management Specialist, discussed the importance of Montana rangelands and the various plants that comprise it. Then the class was treated to Coco Puffs as Quinn Lively, a soil scientist from the Miles City NRCS office taught them about soil permeability. Erin Paddock, forester and member of the National Wild Turkey Federation helped the kids age trees using the numbers of rings found in stumps.

Kaci Anderson, Soil Conservationist of the Miles City NRCS office showed the class various artifacts one looks for when surveying an area for pipelines and other soil disturbances. After checking out the flakes and tools left by indigenous plains people, she taught them how to throw an atlatl. It was surprising how effective the kids were with this weapon. Nate Reid, from American Bird Conservancy, entertained them by introducing native bird species and playing migration games with the class to demonstrate the various difficulties migrating birds may encounter.

Janice Bovankovich, SGI Range Conservationist of Montana Association of Conservation Districts demonstrated how flowers use colors to attract different pollinators and the important roles they play in our ecosystem. The group then moved on to learn about water clarity from Shanna Talcott, retired NRCS Area Supervisor. The students were able to demonstrate their wildlife identification skills as Ryan DeVore, Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Game Biologist showed them skulls, hides, horns, and antlers to identify. Jennie Olson, Olson Farm and Ranch and former Powder River County Weed Coordinator, showed the kids different kinds of noxious weeds found in the area and how easily they are spread.

Finally, Paul Bramblett, Fish, Wildlife, and Parks AIS southeastern Montana area supervisor had the class inspect a kayak for aquatic invasive species. It was incredible to watch the class learn how hard one must look in order to fully inspect a watercraft. After all of their hard work, the third grade students were able to celebrate with cookies on their way home to tell their families how much they learned on their field day.