The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Students explore natural resources
If any students at Perry Elementary School May 31 were giddy because it was the last day of school, they certainly weren’t making that fact obvious throughout the halls.
That’s because the last day of the academic year was also Lake County’s first-ever Ag Day, where students in kindergarten through fourth grade take advantage of a myriad of opportunities to explore topics in agriculture and natural resources right in their own backyards.
The educational event is modeled after the Ashtabula County Youth Ag Day, which took place earlier this month, under the direction of Ashtabula County Extension and Ag Educator Dave Marrison.
Ashtabula County Youth Ag Day involves students from all over the county, and has been taking place for seven years.
The Lake County event focuses on a single school. The intent is to rotate to different elementary schools in Lake County each year.
Lake County Ag Day features six learning stations — recycling; soil and water; plants; storm water health; fish health; and animal encounters.
All 550 students at Perry Elementary were able to participate in conjunction with the school carnival.
The event was created as a collaborative effort between Lake County Soil and Water; Lake County Storm Water; Lake County Solid Waste District; Lake County Health Department; Ohio Department of Natural Resources; Fairport Harbor Fish Research Station; and The Ohio State University-Lake County Extension.
Thomas deHaas, an OSU Lake County agriculture and natural resource educator, said the organizations met a number of times to determine what topics would be most engaging for the students.
“It’s chaotic to have groups for only 10 minutes each, but it’s also very exciting to have the contact with all the students in the school,” he added. “Thinking agriculture and conservation, what a great way to start their summer.”
Though it “took a lot” to bring the day together, deHaas, who taught at Perry Schools for 26 years, used his knowledge of the school’s layout to better position the proximity of the activity stations.
Ann Marie Darby, who owns CloverWishes Family Farm, joked that she was recruited to the event by deHaas.
“Ann Marie and her family were at .... Ashtabula Ag Day and it went great, so I roped her into bringing the goats out here,” deHaas said. “We’ve know each other for a long time and the fit was perfect. It just made sense.”
Darby’s five daughters were also on hand to help answer questions and facilitate the animal educational encounters.
“A lot of students don’t get a chance to experience live animals in educational settings,” Darby said. “We actually do take the goats to other events, including day care centers and vacation bible schools.
“We try to teach the children about animals, their care, and why they are important to agriculture. We have a slew of animals we rotate through, even poultry. We raise our goats as dairy, but to be able to teach kids is even more special. We’re happy to be a part of, now, a second such event.”
“It’s chaotic to have groups for only 10 minutes each, but it’s also very exciting to have the contact with all the students in the school. Thinking agriculture and conservation, what a great way to start their summer.”
— Thomas deHaas, an OSU Lake County agriculture and natural resource educator