Hickory Ridge Forestry had the wonderful opportunity to present forestry to groups of 5th graders recently at Waubonsie State Park in Fremont county for a conservation field day.
It was a beautiful day for a field day as students were introduced to fishing, the parks, wildlife, conservation topics, habitat improvement, and forestry. Students had the chance to learn about the evolving Loess Hills landscape and measures being taken to improve these sensitive hills. We were able to touch on timber management, individual tree evaluation and measurement, and reasoning behind tasks to rehabilitate western Iowa forests.
Students enjoyed getting their hands on some of the equipment and tools. The kids had great questions and were truly engaged in the entire day. The only real issue was running out of time for all the wonderful interaction that was occurring. The day was also a testament to the teachers of the day as the kids were responsible, attentive, and most importantly well educated with their knowledge of natural resources.
It was a wonderful day and HRF looks forward to the next opportunity to help out with the kids.