The Dixon Springs Agriculture Center, in Southern Illinois’ Shawnee National Forest, teams up with with environmental and conservation experts every year for a week of educational programs for school children.  They have been hosting this event for over twenty years, and I think our homeschooling support group has been attending for about that long, too.

We had an excellent turnout of  both young children and teens for our day of Stewardship Week even though it was quite cool and cloudy.

Our first class of the day was The Three R’s (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle).

Our second class was Wildlife Management.  We learned about the area habitats and the animals who live there.  Also, our teacher explained illegal poaching and trapping.  He passed around the pelts of animals that he had found in traps.

Even though this was rather sad, it gave the kids a chance to touch, feel, and study several of the forest’s residents.

Our third class was Wetlands Birds and thankfully it was under a tent because it had started to rain.

Instead of having our picnic lunch outside, the rain continued so we ate in our cars.  After lunch, the kids went to the Activity Center.  Here they stocked up on coloring pages, stickers, and worksheets to do later.  They also made necklaces.

The rain decided to stick around as did the cool temperatures, forcing cancellation of the rest of the Stewardship Day classes.  We were disappointed, but also ready for some dry, warm clothes.

Maybe the rain will stop sometime over the weekend so we can plant the Red Oak saplings we brought home as souvenirs.

Next year we will try this field trip again, and hopefully the sunshine will try to show up too.

betty jo