Boyceville, Colfax fifth graders attend Environmental Field Day

Around 100 fifth grade students from Boyceville and Colfax Schools attended the 2nd Annual Environmental Field Day at the Bjornson Education-Recreation Center near Knapp on Friday, May 6th. The students were given hands-on opportunities to learn about stream ecology, soils, forestry, and native and invasive plants.

The event was hosted by the Dunn Environmental Education Steering Committee (DEESC) with assistance provided by several agencies and nonprofits: Dunn County Land and Water Conservation Division of the Environmental Services Department (LWCD), Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Red Cedar Basin Monitoring Group (RCBMG) and the Lower Chippewa Invasives Partnership (LCIP).

Members of the DEESC, Ka Ying Vang of the NRCS and Janell Newcomb of the LWCD, assisted with planning and organizing the event and kept it running smoothly throughout the day.

The WDNR Water Action Volunteer Program was presented by Ted and Lisa Ludwig of RCBMG, who demonstrated stream monitoring and gave students the opportunity to get hands-on with stream organisms. Lindsay Olson, Dunn County Water Quality Specialist, built on Ted and Lisa’s presentation by discussing with the students how human land use can affect stream health.

Mike England, a regional soil scientist with NRCS, taught students about soil properties and the tools used to develop a soil survey. Students were given the opportunity to use ground penetrating radar to see what the soil beneath them held. Dunn County’s NRCS District Conservationist John Sippl gave a talk on soil health and function and explained how different land management can affect it.

Two WDNR foresters, Rob Strand and Kyle Coopman, demonstrated and gave students the opportunity to perform basic forestry assessments of deciduous and coniferous forests. Dunn County and NRCS Conservation Technicians Bob Kaner and Tammy Pellett then took students on a forest tour to identify trees that are common in West Central Wisconsin.

Mary Gale, Kathy Stahl and Chris Gaetzke of LCIP taught students about native and invasive forest plants. Students were shown how detrimental invasive plants are to woodlands and then worked together to remove approximately 300 pounds of invasive garlic mustard from the Center grounds.