Outdoors Fair Photo Album
April 2006
Agriculture and Watersheds were the two themes for April.
This month, the Get Outdoors Club began a gardening project which they will work on throughout the summer months. In early April, the kids planted wildflower seeds indoors. Each participant got to plant their own tray of flowers which we will transplant outdoors later this summer.
Before Easter, we visited a local farm and did an Easter egg hunt. The kids had to follow various clues regarding agriculture in order to find where the eggs were hidden. This experience allowed the kids to see and touch many new born farm animals and to observe a sustainable farming set up at the top of the area watershed.
Another day we traveled to Winona to play Disc Golf. Winona State Univesity recreation students showed the Get Outdoors Club kids how to play disc golf and then we went up to Garven Heights, an overlook area, to see the floodplain that is home to the city of Winona. The trip gave the kids a chance to understand the concept of what a watershed is as we followed the Whitewater River from Elgin, nearly 25 miles down to the Mississippi River.
We concluded the month and the school year program with an Outdoors Fair on Earth Day weekend. The event was open to the public and we invited several area outdoor organizations to set up exhibits and sponsor hands-on actvities. Nearly 300 local kids and parents came to the park that day to see snakes, hawks, bats, trout, make smores, learn to tie knots, make a glove garden, get a free burr oak tree, touch animal pelts, learn about the area bike trail, get summer camp information, watch a local 4-H Aztec Dance group perform and to pet baby farm animals and sample free foods from a local food network of sustainable farmers.
As we cleaned up after the Outdoors Fair, the faces of the kids in the Get Outdoors Club reflected so much pride. We had executed a very successful event that brought awareness and excitement ti are families about outdoor recreation opportunities availabe in our region. This school year was a great adventure. I look forward to what will come over the summer months and throughout the next school year!
