Upcoming events provide plenty of ways to take care of Mother Earth
The end of April marks what could be the start of something beautiful for Mother Earth.
April 22 marks Earth Day, while April 27 denotes the arrival of the Canon Envirothon, an event designed for high school students to gain invaluable knowledge on conservation.
The Envirothon competition is centered on four universal testing categories, including soil and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, estuaries and wildlife.
According to Michelle Wood, Holmes Soil & Water Conservation district manager, the Envirothon program is an educational tool, capable of supplementing environmental education both inside and outside the classroom. In the competition, teams work collaboratively to develop their knowledge of ecology and natural resource management and to practice their environmental problem-solving skills in preparation for Envirothon. The teams, each consisting of five members, work to demonstrate their knowledge of environmental science and natural resource management at five training/testing stations.
“We have resource people who actually write the questions and will operate the tests, some of them being site-specific,” said Wood. “This is such a good learning tool for these kids. We will have one of the sites where we will have a soil pit dug and they have to go down into it and answer questions directly relating to the soil, and we will also have a stream study with specific questions. It should be a fun and challenging day.”
The event travels throughout the 16 counties participating in the contest, of which Holmes County is part of the Southwest District in Ohio. Each team consists of five students, who will combine their knowledge in getting the answers to all of the multiple choice questions. In all, there will be 56 teams in the competition, with the winner moving on to the state level, and the winner of that contest moving on to the national competition this summer.
“We’re very excited to be able to be a part of this experience, and to take part in promoting conservation to our youth,” said Wood.
“Our planet is more than just a home for us, it is our habitat,” said Zedrick Clark, owner of Nature’s Food Market in Berlin. “It is our entertainment, our garden, our ranch and for many of us our source of income. It only makes sense to take one day out per year to appreciate the good stewardship of these resources we have been given.”
Earth Day was created on April 22, 1970 as an educational movement, when two congressmen, one Democrat and one Republican, got together to set aside a national day of education to inform people of the state of the planet’s health. Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city folks and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders.
Since then Earth Day has been promoting conservation and beautification, and Holmes County has many of its own ways of promoting it.
Over the last several years, Nature’s in Berlin has been doing activities and running special promotions on Earth Day and this year it will continue. April 22 there will be something for everyone at the store.
“Every day is Earth Day at Nature’s Food Market,” said Clark. “Most people know our focus is on products that help to keep our bodies healthy. It is also our focus to carry products that help to keep our habitat healthy too.”
Drawings, giveaways, tours and plenty of information on how people can celebrate Earth Day by getting involved will be available, and Nature’s will also be donating a portion of their proceeds to the Ohio Division of Wildlife to help ensure that the same hunting and fishing that many enjoy locally can be enjoyed by future generations.
April 22 marks Earth Day, while April 27 denotes the arrival of the Canon Envirothon, an event designed for high school students to gain invaluable knowledge on conservation.
The Envirothon competition is centered on four universal testing categories, including soil and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, estuaries and wildlife.
According to Michelle Wood, Holmes Soil & Water Conservation district manager, the Envirothon program is an educational tool, capable of supplementing environmental education both inside and outside the classroom. In the competition, teams work collaboratively to develop their knowledge of ecology and natural resource management and to practice their environmental problem-solving skills in preparation for Envirothon. The teams, each consisting of five members, work to demonstrate their knowledge of environmental science and natural resource management at five training/testing stations.
“We have resource people who actually write the questions and will operate the tests, some of them being site-specific,” said Wood. “This is such a good learning tool for these kids. We will have one of the sites where we will have a soil pit dug and they have to go down into it and answer questions directly relating to the soil, and we will also have a stream study with specific questions. It should be a fun and challenging day.”
The event travels throughout the 16 counties participating in the contest, of which Holmes County is part of the Southwest District in Ohio. Each team consists of five students, who will combine their knowledge in getting the answers to all of the multiple choice questions. In all, there will be 56 teams in the competition, with the winner moving on to the state level, and the winner of that contest moving on to the national competition this summer.
“We’re very excited to be able to be a part of this experience, and to take part in promoting conservation to our youth,” said Wood.
“Our planet is more than just a home for us, it is our habitat,” said Zedrick Clark, owner of Nature’s Food Market in Berlin. “It is our entertainment, our garden, our ranch and for many of us our source of income. It only makes sense to take one day out per year to appreciate the good stewardship of these resources we have been given.”
Earth Day was created on April 22, 1970 as an educational movement, when two congressmen, one Democrat and one Republican, got together to set aside a national day of education to inform people of the state of the planet’s health. Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city folks and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders.
Since then Earth Day has been promoting conservation and beautification, and Holmes County has many of its own ways of promoting it.
Over the last several years, Nature’s in Berlin has been doing activities and running special promotions on Earth Day and this year it will continue. April 22 there will be something for everyone at the store.
“Every day is Earth Day at Nature’s Food Market,” said Clark. “Most people know our focus is on products that help to keep our bodies healthy. It is also our focus to carry products that help to keep our habitat healthy too.”
Drawings, giveaways, tours and plenty of information on how people can celebrate Earth Day by getting involved will be available, and Nature’s will also be donating a portion of their proceeds to the Ohio Division of Wildlife to help ensure that the same hunting and fishing that many enjoy locally can be enjoyed by future generations.
Published: April 16, 2011
