Not only do we offer services in the office in Preston five days a week, we also host many events throughout the year around the county. Some of these educational opportunities include our annual Prairie Walk in late summer or early fall, and the Forestry Field Day (which will be July 29, 2020).
We also educate the next generation by having a presence at the fourth grade Farm Safety Day in Mabel, we make classroom visits to all the fifth graders in the county and talk about conservation and benefits of trees to our environment. We also offer to plant a tree at each school every year and all fifth graders get to bring one home to plant as well. As sixth graders, students can attend the Conservation Day which is held at Forestville State Park in September every year. For the older students, we also help put on the Area 7 Envirothon each year in Byron.
We provide activities at the Fillmore County Fair each year. They are Wednesday through Friday afternoons in the commercial exhibit building. Those activities in the past have included edible “soils,” demonstrations of the stream table and rainfall simulator. The stream table demonstrates a number of concepts including how the path a stream takes changes over time and changes in amount of flow. The rainfall simulator shows very graphically how growing plants and plant debris protect soil from water erosion.
We also have coloring/activity books available at the fair and in the office. The stream table also makes school visits. Just this fall it was at the Kingsland High School fish and wildlife class. In December we visited the Fillmore Central fourth graders and the Chatfield third grade got to check it out last spring. If your school would like to know more about what educational options we offer, give Aaren Mathison a call at the office (507) 765-3878, ext. 109. We can tailor the information to tie into the topic being covered in the classroom.