Sampling for invertebrates.

Microoganism study. 10/2008

Time for exploration. 10/2008

Creative play. 10/2008

Making lasting connections. 10/2008.

By Darla Wenger and Jenny Walker Bailey

Genoa National Fish Hatchery and Southern Bluffs Elementary School are well on their way to helping twenty-eight fifth graders enjoy the benefits of nature for a lifetime. These lucky students attended their first of three all-day sessions in the Outdoor Classroom, a place where nature is the teacher, wetlands are the guide, and plants, animals, and imagination become playmates. Learning about ecosystems, the water cycle, and the ecology of aquatic organisms while touching, feeling, and experiencing them first-hand make the lessons stick. The School District’s science curriculum for fifth graders includes these lessons, so making it stick with students is important. Exploring nature and discovering answers to questions on their own not only gives these kids a better understanding of science, it also benefits physical fitness, emotional health, development of social skills, problem solving strategies, spatial awareness, and increases the chances that they will acquire a love for nature that can increase overall health and well-being beyond adulthood.

Beginning in February 2007, the Service has made “Connecting People with Nature” one of its Six Top Priorities. This priority was established to help ensure the future of conservation and to help people enjoy the benefits of nature for themselves, both of which contribute to the Mission of the Service “To conserve, enhance, and protect fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the benefit of the American People”. The benefits are two-fold. Teaching conservation ethics in nature ensures the health of America’s natural resources as well as the health of American people. Also, healthy Americans that have grown up with a strong connection to nature are likely to make substantial, positive contributions to nature conservation in America.

Susan Houlihan of Southern Bluffs Elementary and Darla Wenger and Jenny Walker Bailey of Genoa NFH have worked hard to incorporate nature experience into the curriculum for fifth graders so that these students may excel in their classes and enjoy the other benefits nature can provide. Introducing these children to nature over a series of visits will help them connect with nature on a personal level that will stay with them as they grow into adults. Helping to create these connections is not just important for creating future conservationists in natural resource fields. It is also important for the future of conservation in new areas such as architecture, engineering, social psychology, art, law, medicine, and science. As these children grow into young adult professionals, it is hoped that with nature close to their hearts, they will become healthy, successful individuals that contribute to nature in ways that are only imagined today.

By Darla Wenger and Jenny Walker Bailey