Agriculture and Natural Resource Literacy Program

Program Information

        Farm Bureau Young Leader's Annual Golf Outing to Benefit AITC       

             Friday, August 15th, 2008, Late morning start time, Bliss Creek Golf Course

            Sign up at the Farm Bureau Office or call 630-553-7403

News & Updates:

• Come check us out at the Kendall Co. Fair and play the Agriculture and Conservation Version of "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader"!  Adults and Children are both welcome to play.  Prizes will be awarded! We will be set up in the family fun tent from July 31st-August 3rd. 

• Agriculture and Environmental Science Career and College Fair to be held on Oct. 7th at the historic courthouse in Yorkville.  Students with an interest in agriculture, horticulture, the environment, or science in general are encouraged to attend with their schools.  The program is still seeking businesses and organizations to participate in this event. 

• Volunteers Wanted! Anyone interested in helping present Ag in the Classroom or other programs should contact the SWCD office.  This is a great opportunity for those currently enrolled in college education programs.

• Interesting in programming for a school, library, or community group?  Call the SWCD office to see what the education program might be able to offer! 

Kids Explore Soil & More at Natural Resource Tour

Around 700 4^th and 5^th grade students representing each of the four Kendall county school districts attended the first ever Natural Resource Tour being offered by the newly established Kendall Education Connection.  This event was held at Hoover Outdoor Education Center on May 8^th and 9^th. While at the tour, students visited 11 unique stations where they learned about a variety of topics including animals, aquatic habitats, water usage, prairies, soil, wetlands, and Illinois geologic history. In addition, students participated in two interpretive hikes. These stations were presented by a variety of individuals and organizations in Kendall County including the Megan Andrews (SWCD), Eric McTaggart (Natural Resources Conservation Service), Deanna Bazan and Mark Rothman (Kendall County Outdoor Education Center), Danielle Ebersole and Sarah Tyler (Kendall County Forest Preserve), Dave Margolis and Clint Meyers (Oswegoland Park District), Brooke Baker and Natalie Mahler (Grundy Co. SWCD), Judy Fitchett (Conservation Foundation), Laura McCoy (Oswego Community School District), Meegan McCarthy’s Environmental Science classes at Oswego High School, Newark High School FFA, Bonnie Henne, and Karen Hoban.  Each of these presenters provided students with interesting demonstrations and/or hands-on activities. Some highlights from the stations include students “digging” into soil samples to determine soil texture, putting on a play to learn about Illinois geologic history, getting wet while examining a creek’s aquatic life, and seeing a hawk during one of the interpretive hikes.  Overall, it was a great two days of learning in the open air! KEC looks forward to offering it again next year!

Education Consortium Makes It Official with Name and Signing

On Monday, April 28^th, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed, officially establishing the Kendall Education Connection (KEC).  The KEC is comprised of 5 different county entities.  These entities include the Soil and Water Conservation District, Farm Bureau, Forest Preserve, Outdoor Education Center, and Kendall County Health and Human Services.  These entities have come together with a mission to provide county residents with educational programs dealing with the environment, nature, agriculture, health, and related topics.  It is the hope of these entities that through their collaboration they will be able to provide high quality educational programming, reduce duplication of this programming, and reach a higher amount of county residents than could be reached by any of these entities alone. Several members of KEC have already shown the benefits of the collaboration through hosting a Natural Resource Tour for around 700 4^th & 5^th grade students on May 8^th and 9^th. Read the article immediately following this one to learn all about this event!  For more information on the Kendall Education Connection, please contact Jenny Wold at the SWCD office. 

New Nutrition Ag Mag and Lessons

Illinois Ag in the Classroom has put out yet another fabulous Ag Mag.  The Nutrition Ag Mag was recently released and is now available through the education office as well as from the IAITC website at www.agintheclassroom.org.  This Ag Mag features sections on the new food pyramid, nutritional requirements, physical activity needs, and guidance on how to read a food label.  In addition to releases this Ag Mag, the IAITC has also released lessons that can be used in conjunction with it.  If you'd like a classroom set of Nutrition Ag Mags and would like to check out the lessons, contact Jenny at the SWCD office. 

Curriculum

• 100 Days of School, 100 Days of Agriculture Activities Booklet by IATC.  This is a great booklet with quick and fun ways to add agriculture to your curriculum.

• Candy- Culture and Creativity by IATC, Farm Bureau, IAA

• where Candy Comes From (Background knowledge for Candy-Culture and Creativity booklet)

• Green Eggs and Agriculture by IATC.  Great lessons & activities for Dr. Seuss's Birthday!

Related Websites & Links:

Agriculture in the Classroom

• Ag Mags and Related Curriculum:  www.agintheclassroom.org

• University of Illinois Extension, School Online:  http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/state/schools.html

Prairies (Great classroom-friendly packet and links)

• IDNR, Prairie Information Packet:  http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/education/prairie/games.htm

• More Links to Prairie Websites:  http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/~kenr/prairielinks.html

Wetlands (Great Information and lessons)

• http://www.idahoptv.org/dialogue4kids/

• http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/web/wetlands.html

• http://idahoptv.org/dialogue4kids/season8/forestsdesertswetlands/wetlands.cfm

• http://www.ew.govt.nz/forschools/teachers/activities/wetlands.htm

Soil (Great information and lessons)

• http://42explore.com/dirt.htm

• http://soils.usda.gov/education/resources/k_12/lessons/profile/

• http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/lessons.cfm?DocID=152

• https://www.soils.org/lessons/plans/

Trees

• The National Arbor Day Foundation:  http://www.arborday.org/

Grants Available to Teachers

• Illinois School Yard Grant Habitat Action Program, http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/education/entice/forms/shagapp06.pdf

• Illinois Biodiversity Field Trip Grant: http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/education/entice/forms/ibftgapp06.pdf 

Contact Information: 

Kendall County Soil and Water Conservation District

7775A Rt. 47, Yorkville, IL, 60560

Phone:  (630)553-5821, ext. 3  Fax:  (630)553-7442

Education coordinator:  Jenny Wold, Jennifer.Wold@il.nacdnet.net