Education expo hits on all cylinders
POYNETTE - What was your best day of school?
Some of us have to think it over. But Andrea Gorniak of Marshall didn’t hesitate.
“So far this is my favorite (day) ever,” said Gorniak, a sixth-grader at Marshall Elementary School, on Thursday at the MacKenzie Center. “Ever.”
There was ample evidence to support her claim.
On a spectacular, sunny spring day, Gorniak and several of her classmates were sitting in a patch of green grass and — get this — petting a dog.
Ruger, a sweet-tempered, 2-year-old German shorthaired retriever, lay between the students and soaked up the attention at the exhibit of the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association.
But that was just one of about 40 sweet options offered at the Midwest Outdoor Heritage Education Expo.
Now in its fifth year, the expo is a project of the Outdoor Heritage Education Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization run by Mark and Coni LaBarbera of Hazel Green.
More than 30 other organizations and dozens of individuals support the event through donations of time, materials or money.
The 2018 edition, which was held Wednesday and Thursday at MacKenzie, drew 2,805 students from 40 schools, Mark LaBarbera said.
In addition, 561 teachers, chaperones and parents were on the MacKenzie grounds. Organizers attempt to have one adult for every 10 to 12 kids.
Thanks to the contributions of partners and donors, the event is free to students. The activities and educational materials are geared to students in grades 3 through 7.
From archery to zooplankton, students had a buffet of activities and learning stations to choose from.
“The idea is to connect kids with the outdoors,” LaBarbera said. “We try to present a wide range of opportunities and help pique their interest in something that could become a life-long activity.”
Studies show an increasing disconnect between America’s youth and the outdoors.
Author Richard Louv has described the condition as “nature deficit disorder.”
And U.S. participation rates in traditional outdoor activities are either stagnant (such as fishing) or declining (hunting).
But LaBarbera insists there is hope. “What kids need is a chance, an introduction, and then a path forward,” LaBarbera said.
All of that was available at the expo. Supporting organizations set up stations throughout the expansive MacKenzie grounds to provide supervised activities or learning opportunities.
Information about how students might take their interests to the next level was also available.
“This is the greatest classroom in America,” said Paul Mayer of Reeseville, a volunteer and member of the Friends of Poynette Game Farm.
Dozens of school buses rolled into MacKenzie on Thursday morning and about 1,400 students, teachers and chaperones streamed out.
“Teachers tell me this is the field trip each year that gets the largest ‘dad’ participation,” LaBarbera said.
Regardless of gender, adults were encouraged to try the activities, too. The event is meant to cast a wide net.
Mia Walters, a 6th grader from Lighthouse Christian School in Madison, shot a BB gun for the first time.
“I was scared before I did it because I thought it would hurt,” Walters said. “But it turned out to be fun.”
If they wanted to try the BB gun range, the students were first taught the rules of firearm safety and then given one-on-one supervision by a certified Wisconsin hunter safety instructor.
Some schools opted to not participate in the BB gun activity.
All activities were voluntary.
Next up for Walters: She and her best friend Ariana Mikkelson, a seventh-grader at Lighthouse, were in line at the bowfishing exhibit. Two students at a time climbed to the top of a trailer and shot arrows at a carp target in a water tank.
“I’ve never shot a bow, either, but this is my time to try,” Walters said.
That’s the kind of spirit that kindles optimism in LaBarbera.
He and Coni jumped into the breech to organize the event when a similar one held in Beaver Dam faltered in early 2014 after its executive director moved out of state.
LaBarbera, 61, was a member of the Sporting Heritage Council at the time.
He remembers telling administrators with the Department of Natural Resources it would be a “shame to see the youth expo die.”
Agency leaders didn’t want to see that happen, either, but weren’t in the business of running such events.
So LaBarbera, who works as an editor and producer, including of the Wild Turkeys in Wisconsin special with Dan Small, applied his talents and work ethic to the task.
Within 90 days the first Midwest Outdoor Heritage Education Expo was conceived, organized and executed. Each year it has continued to grow and set new highs for attendance.
LaBarbera leases the MacKenzie grounds from the DNR for the event.
More than a dozen DNR staff were on hand Thursday, assisting with exhibits from the BB gun range to fire prevention to snowmobile safety and endangered species.
Students could touch an ornate box turtle and fox snake at one DNR exhibit.
Nearby, they could use nets to sample aquatic life in the MacKenzie pond. Trays of water set on tables held tadpoles, dragonfly larvae and immature leopard frogs taken momentarily from the shallow waterbody.
Skins, antlers and skulls of animals were on display in several tents, including the Wisconsin Conservation Congress and Wisconsin Trappers Association.
Dan Carroll of Mauston gave a muskrat skinning demonstration.
“I figure I’m doing a good job if I hear some ‘eeewww’,” Carroll said. His instruction included the importance of full utilization of the animals.
Carroll carved nuggets of meat from the hindquarters of the muskrats — which he considers a delicacy — and the rest of the carcass will be fed to his farm animals.
On a lawn along the southern edge of MacKenzie, Carolyn Byers of Madison Audubon was teaching kids about the perils facing migratory birds as well as the value of stopover habitat.
“Who knows what’s cool about how hummingbirds can fly?” Byers asked.
“They can fly backwards,” correctly replied Maddie Evans, a fifth-grader from Cambria-Friesland Elementary.
However, they can’t migrate backwards, so it’s important for humans to help hummers and all birds by reducing migratory hazards, Byers said.
She had the students assume bird identities and attempt to pass through an obstacle course of wind turbines, power lines, tall buildings and feral cats.
In a tent toward the center of the grounds, Nels Swenson of Ducks Unlimited stood in front of a pen that contained six fuzzy mallard ducklings.
“How old do you think they are?” Swenson asked.
A group of students shouted answers ranging from four weeks to one year.
He said the right answer was four — but days, not weeks.
“They have doubled in size in less than a week,” Swenson said. “And that’s good. We want them to grow fast and get big. They need healthy habitat to do that.”
The students then asked Swenson to use a duck call. He obliged, but only after quizzing the kids further.
“Who does most of the talking in the duck world?” Swenson asked. “And who does all the work?”
The answer to both questions was the hen.
“The females lay the eggs, protect the nest and raise the broods,” Swenson said. “The girls are the heroes of the duck world.”
Gwen Wohlgefardt, a teacher at Jefferson Lighthouse in Racine, brought her class of fifth-graders.
Was it worth getting the kids to school an hour early, then driving nearly 5 hours round-trip?
“Absolutely,” Wohlgefardt said. “The kids learned a lot and it was a very valuable day for them.”
One of her students conquered his fear of heights by climbing up the MacKenzie fire tower, Wohlgefardt said.
Her class was able to participate in about a dozen activities. Archery, presented by Wisconsin Bowhunters Association, was one of the favorites, she said.
“I said to my husband (Howard) after — you know, kids need more outdoor education,” said Wohlgefardt, who has taught elementary school for 27 years.
Wohlgefardt said the outdoor expo was the first day-long field trip she was able to offer a class that focused on outdoor, nature and conservation issues.
Sponsors helped offset the bus expenses for their trip from Racine. Many other schools received financial assistance for transportation, too.
LaBarbera said he and Coni, who are unpaid volunteers, are committed to continuing the event.
“If you look around, and you see the diversity of activities and organizations, all working toward the same goal of getting kids outdoors, I think you have to believe we can make a positive difference,” LaBarbera said.
As I walked the MacKenzie grounds on Thursday, I couldn’t help thinking how awesome it would have been to take a field trip to a similar event when I was a student.
Even if I won’t be a ffifth-grader again, it’s heartening to think thousands of kids will be exposed to outdoor activities each year through the event.