NRCS Earth Day Celebration April 22, 2004

Written by Jill Rees, Public Affairs Specialist
Contact: Paige Buck, Public Affairs Specialist, 217.353.6606

Teachers

The Perfect Earth Day Activity!

Get your students thinking beyond recycling and on to the big picture environmental issues!

Habitat, Humans & Harmony brought to you by the Champaign, Douglas, and Piatt County Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs), USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Illinois Conservation Partnership.

The theme for this year’s Earth Day outdoor classroom for grades 6-8 is Humans, Habitat and Harmony. Your students will tour a working conservation farm where productive cropland is intermingled with restored wildlife habitat, native grasses and wetlands--a critical feature on Illinois’ landscape. Natural resource professionals including scientists, engineers, biologists, wildlife experts, archaeologists and local historians will present a variety of interactive, hands-on stations designed to paint a comprehensive picture of Illinois’ ecology and the role humans have played in management of land and resources through history.

Join NRCS State Conservationist Bill Gradle and other invited guests and a host of Illinois conservation leaders as we celebrate Earth Day 2004 at the Koeberlein Farm.

What: Students tour a conservation farm, stopping at stations with hands-on lessons in conservation, ecology, history, and the social and cultural role of agriculture. Bring your own lunch. Drinks will be provided.

Who: The outdoor classroom is designed for 6th-8th grade students.

When: Students spend 1 full day on the farm. Habitat, Humans & Harmony will host students on Thursday, April 22, 2003 from approximately 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (More information will be forthcoming).

Where: The Koeberlein Farm, a working conservation farm located just east of Pesotum, IL (See map below).

How: Register early! Contact NRCS Communications Specialist Jill Rees at (217) 353-6609 or email Jill.Rees@il.usda.gov.

Humans, plants and animals all compete for the same vital resources needed to survive. The Habitat, Humans & Harmony Earth Day Celebration will lead your students through a tour of the ecological diversity of Illinois. Resource professionals from NRCS, Champaign, Douglas and Piatt County SWCDs, and other organizations will outline the roles humans have played in nature through time, discuss how we have altered the landscape, and examine ways we can fully understand our place in nature and find harmony with all elements of Illinois’ vibrant and diverse ecosystems.

Each station will be presented by an expert in the field. Tour guides will also accompany your class through the conservation farm tour and lead discussions between stops to help students connect each lesson to the larger concept: how humans can use science, technology, and their ability to work together to live in harmony with a healthy and productive environment.

For the Teacher:

Each will receive a complimentary teachers’ kit, educational resources, and activities to take back to the classroom to re-enforce lessons from the Habitat, Humans & Harmony Earth Day Celebration. More detailed educational information will be sent to registered teachers early in the spring semester to help instructors fit the Earth Day conservation farm tour into lesson plans.

Directions

The Koeberlein Farm is 4 miles east of Pesotum on 200 N. and 1400 E. Travel time will be approximately 25 minutes from Champaign, 20 minutes from Tuscola, 50 minutes from Homer, and 35 minutes from Bement. Signs will be posted on 200 N. in Pesotum and on the intersection of 1400 E. and 200 N. to guide your bus to the site. Parking for busses will be provided. More detailed maps will be sent to registered teachers as the date approaches.