PANA, Ill. — Third and Fourth grade students from Christian County enjoyed a day of fun and exploration at the annual Conservation Day held May 10. The farm of Linda Kehias, located west of Pana, served as the perfect location for students to participate in hands-on activities and experiments. Nearly 300 local students attended the event. Participating schools included: Lincoln Elementary of Pana, Sacred Heart School of Pana, St. Mary’s School of Taylorville and First Baptist Christian Academy of Rosamond.
All activities were interactive and included: “Fish” and “Snakes and Turtles” taught by Sarah Haslett, Dustin Wolf and Dalton Gatton, Natural Resource Specialists and Lake Shelbyville Army Corp of Engineers; “Pollution Prevention” taught by Jeff Guy, Geologist with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency; “Bird Migration Game” taught by Tara Beveroth, Ornithologist with University of Illinois Natural Resource Survey; “Predator vs. Prey Game”, taught by Melisa McMillan, Manager, Christian County Farm Bureau; “What’s That Tree?” taught by Barb Grabner-Kerns, Field Coordinator, Trees Forever; “Mammals of Illinois”, taught by Dave Shiley, University of Illinois Extension Educator; “Watch Out Weeds”, taught by Andrew Holsinger, University of Illinois Extension Educator; “Bats”, taught by Todd Austin, The Bat Doctor; “Biodiversity Lab – Traveling Science Center”, taught by Jennifer Mui, University of Illinois Natural History Survey; “Insects”, taught by Ken Johnson, University of Illinois Extension Educator; “Recycling” taught by Debbie Levault, Environmental Educator, Christian County Solid Waste; “Soil and Water Conservation’ taught by Tony Hammond Soil Conservationist and Justin Ramey, Soil Technician, Natural Resources Conservation Service and “Saving Electricity” taught by Heidi Hall, Member Service Manager with Shelby Electric Cooperative.
University of Illinois Extension Unit 18 organized the event under the leadership of Charlotte Schuricht, Agricultural Literacy Program Coordinator for Christian County, and Gary Letterly, Extension Educator, Energy and Environmental Stewardship.
University of Illinois Extension provides equal opportunities in programs and employment. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this program, please contact our office. Universidad de Illinois ofrece igualdad de oportunidades en programas y empleo. Si usted necesita un ajuste razonable para participar en este programa, por favor póngase en contacto con nuestra oficina.
— University of Illinois Extension Unit 18
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