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North Fork Salt River Basin - Youth Activities
The 4-H SportFishing project has been developed through a national cooperative effort that will provide information and motivation to enhance current program content and focus. Training of volunteer adult leaders is the base for the program. Rather than one-day fishing events, volunteer adults will establish a mentor-like relationship with youth in an on-going learning experience. The program will teach much more than just basic angling skills, and includes curriculum on stream quality and fish habitat (aquatic ecology) as well as the “human dimensions” of fishing. The 4-H SportFishing project has 4 areas of instruction/specialization:
The program goals are to:
University of Extension Youth Specialists recruit Regional Teams of instructors in each extension region. Members of the Regional SportFishing Teams will receive intensive training in one of the 4 areas of instructional specialization. In turn, these Regional Teams will conduct localized training for volunteers wishing to become 4-H SportFishing leaders in their own county 4-H program. Leader training or “certification” will be required for adult volunteers. Partnering with MU Extension on the 4-H SportFishing program are the Missouri Department of Conservation, Bass Pro Shops, and Conservation Federation of Missouri. Contact any County University Extension Center for more information. Environmental Education Day and Water Festival at Mark Twain Lake The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hosts an Environmental Education (EE) Day each year on the third Friday of September. The event is held at the John F. Spalding Recreation Area. The main goal for the EE Day is to provide students with the opportunity to learn what is currently being done to promote, protect, and enhance our precious natural environment. Representatives from businesses, government agencies, and special interest groups discuss how their industry impacts the environment and what steps they are taking to improve the quality of our environment. Exhibitors present sessions for students in grades 4-8 and their teachers. Approximately 950 students from Northeast Missouri and neighboring Illinois take part in the event. Sponsors for EE Day are the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, University of Missouri Extension, BASF Corporation, General Mills, Continental Cement, Midwest Rentals, Northeast Missouri Electric Power, C & R Markets, and Leggett & Platt Aluminum Group. In recent years, the event has included an interagency Water Festival co-sponsored by The North Fork Project and MU Extension. About 500 children and their teachers take part in learning “stations” manned by a variety of resource agencies. The 2005 event will be held on Friday, September 17th. For more information, contact
For information on the Water Fest, contact
School Enrichment Programs & Activities for Group Participation: These are all projects available to school children and 4-H members in the Northeast Region.School Enrichment Programs:
Activities for Group Participation:
4-H Project
Work: Jacquie Stuart Girls Scouts Have Water Drop Patch This badge encourages girls to make a difference through community-based watershed projects. Some of these activities include: learning about local watersheds; identifying ways to reduce pollution at home and in the yard; stenciling storm drains; participating in “stream walks”; entering the River of Words poetry or art contest; and hosting groundwater and watershed festivals. There are more than 20 ways for members to earn this badge depending on age and interest level. A local troop can get involved in water quality by meeting some of the following requirements: Find out what animals and plants live in the watershed. Visit a local plant (water or wastewater) to learn about treatment. Visit a publicly-accessible wetland. Organize a storm-drain stenciling project. Design a mock up of the watershed. Find a watershed group on the community and volunteer to help. Information can be obtained from any Girl Scout leader and/or from Linda Garner, Program Director for the Girls Scouts of the Becky Thatcher Area, Email: lindagarner@gsbta.org or http://www.gsbta@org Missouri Evirothon. The future of the earth depends on the students of today. The decisions they make, such as where to build their homes, what kind of transportation to use and the type of detergent to buy, all affect the environment. The Envirothon helps students learn about their natural world and make wise decisions that affect it. The Envirothon is a problem-solving, natural resource education program for high school students. In the field, teams of students are challenged to hone critical thinking skills and work as a team. They answer written questions and conduct hands-on investigation of environmental issues in five categories—Aquatics, Soils, Forestry, Wildlife, and Current Environmental Issues. Envirothon can also be used as a curriculum guide for classroom study. Envirothon was started in 1979 by three Pennsylvania Soil & Water Conservation Districts (SWCD). By 1988, the idea had caught on and the first national contest was held. In 1995, there were participants from 31 states, Canada and Australia. Missouri held its first state Envirothon in 1998 and has sent teams to national competition several years. Missouri is divided into six regional Envirothon competition sections. The Northeast Region includes Adair, Chariton, Clark, Knox, Lewis, Linn, Macon, Marion, Monroe, Pike, Putnam, Ralls, Schuyler, Scotland, Shelby, Sullivan, and Randolph Counties. Competitions are sponsored by the Missouri Association of SWCDs. Reference materials for students and teachers are available through the Shelby County SWCD. They will also help set up training schedules. Training for team advisors is provided by the Missouri Departments of Conservation (MDC) and Natural Resources (DNR), the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and University Outreach and Extension (UOE). For more information, contact Carol Hubbard at the Shelby County SWCD, POB 158, 210 E. Main, Shelbyville, MO 63468-0158 Telephone: 573.633.2211, Extension 3. Grow Native! Warm season native grasses are very effective at reducing nonpoint source (NPS) pollution of water bodies. Their deep root system promotes water infiltration, slows water flow, and works towards reducing storm-water run-off. This type of root system provides such benefits as higher drought tolerance, less irrigation to maintain green during the summer months, and reduces water use or over watering. Because of their "bunch" type of growth, established, warm season native grasses are an excellent ways of stabilizing the soil to reduce sedimentation and bank erosion. Monroe County Missouri is taking on a new look.. and working to become a tourism destination for Northeast Missouri. What is this look? Native, Grow Native! to be exact. The mission statement of the Let’s Grow Monroe” group is to enhance the growth and stability of Monroe County by increasing awareness and education of our native environmental habitat. The long-term objective of the group is to:
A broad range of collaborators is working to put the pieces together on the expansive project. As the Grow Native! project takes on a sizeable marketing campaign and works to educate Missourians on the many benefits of native environmental landscaping, Monroe County is forming partnerships and working to communicate to the public the many possibilities Grow Native has for the county. On Friday May 23, 2003, the first native plant site was established with help from local 4H volunteers. Two small native plant beds; with species selected to attract butterflies and hummingbirds, were planted at Monroe Manor. These plants were obtained from Missouri Wildflower Nursery and donated by the Monroe County Excel Class. Future plantings will include landscaping underneath Welcome to Paris Signs, other highly visible landscaping plots in Paris and surrounding areas. Plans also include sponsorship of clinics and workshops to promote GROW NATIVE techniques. To date, many groups and agencies have stepped up to play an active role in this project. The Paris FFA Chapter used its greenhouse to produce plugs for the Grow Native! program. Others in the core group include: MU Extension, Missouri Department of Agriculture, Missouri Department of Conservation, United States Department of Agriculture, City of Paris, Grow Native!, Department of Natural Resources, Monroe County 4-H, EXCEL leadership group and many others. Contacts for the project are Phillip Shatzer, City Administrator, and Wendy Harrington, Regional Specialist, MU Extension, Paris, MO For more information, contact the City of Paris at 660.327.4630 or the Monroe County Extension Office at 660.327.4158. Target Map Each year Kirksville Middle School targets specific areas on the MAP test (The Missouri Assessment Process) for improvement. Throughout the year special events are scheduled to provide additional enriching curricula for these identified areas. In December 2002, the Kirksville Middle School staged the first Water Awareness Day Education (WADE), a series of lessons on environmental and water-quality issues. This was repeated in 2003 and is scheduled again for the first Friday in December of 2004. In 2003, KMS focused on the following skills: reading nonfiction, geometric and special sense, earth science/the Universe, and economic concepts. Approximately 500 students took part in lessons and hands-on activities focused on watershed issues and designed to “target” their educational skills as tested through Missouri Aptitude Proficiency (MAP). Contributing time and teaching talent are instructors representing the following: Adair, Knox and Monroe County and Area 2 NRCS; DNR-Northeast Regional Office; the Mark Twain Water Quality Initiative; Missouri Department of Conservation; the North Fork Project at Clarence Cannon Wholesale Water Commission U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Mark Twain Lake; and UOE Programs in 4H and Youth, Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), and Water Quality. Each lesson is repeated several times throughout the day as students move between classrooms. Topics are designed to create better understanding of watershed protection and management, soil erosion problems, interaction between humans and the environment, analytical thinking, and other water-related issues such as health, power generation, water use and consumption, and testing and treatment. Further information can be obtained from KMS Principal and Science Coordinator Mike Bartig, Email: MBartig@Kirksville.k12.mo.us, Michelle Klem MU Extension 4H/Youth Specialist, E-mail: KlemMD@missouri.edu and/or Wanda Eubank, The North Fork Project, Email: weubank@parismo.net Youth activities sponsored by county Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD’s) Knox and Scotland SWCD’s Poster contest (February-March) Farm Bureau Days K-5 (May) Soil Stewardship materials K-5 (April)
Macon
SWCD
Meals
for Northeast Regional Grassland Contest (October)
Monroe
SWCD
Putnam SWCD Shelby SWCD Regional,
State, and National Envirothon State Envirothon (May) National Envirothon to be held in Missouri, July 2005 The Show-Me Standards: Overview of Performance Standards All Missourians are eager to ensure that graduates of Missouri’s public schools have the knowledge, skills and competencies essential to leading productive, fulfilling and successful lives as they continue their education, enter the workforce and assume their civic responsibilities. Schools need to establish high expectations that will challenge all students to reach their maximum potential. To that end, the Outstanding Schools Act of 1993 called together master teachers, parents and policy-makers from around the state to create Missouri academic standards. These proposed standards are the work of that group. The standards are built around the belief that the success of Missouri’s students depends on both a solid foundation of knowledge and skills and the ability of students to apply their knowledge and skills to the kinds of problems and decisions they will likely encounter after they graduate.The academic standards incorporate and strongly promote the understanding that active, hands-on learning will benefit students of all ages. By integrating and applying basic knowledge and skills in practical and challenging ways across all disciplines, students experience learning that is more engaging and motivating. Such learning stays in the mind long after the tests are over and acts as a springboard to success beyond the classroom. These standards for students are not a curriculum. Rather, the standards serve as a blueprint from which local school districts may write challenging curriculum to help all students achieve their maximum potential. Missouri law assures local control of education. Each school district will determine how its curriculum will be structured and the best methods to implement that curriculum in the classroom. The academic standards are grouped around four goals:
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Index |
Agriculture |
Non-Ag Activities |
Recreation |
NPS |
Plants & Animals |
Water Quality |
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Elk River | James River | Sac River | Spring River | North Fork Salt River |
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Missouri Watershed Information Network (MoWIN) |
Page last updated August 26, 2008 |
