Illinois Ag Connection - 25th Earth Stewardship Day at Illinois State Fairgrounds

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25th Earth Stewardship Day at Illinois State Fairgrounds
Illinois Ag Connection - 05/06/2016

Nearly 900 fourth grade students from Sangamon County gathered at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Thursday as they participated in the 25th Annual Earth Stewardship Day. This year's event was hosted and jointly sponsored by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Illinois departments of Agriculture and Transportation, and the Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

Thursday's event included 40 interactive presentations and attractions for the students and their teachers. Presenters represented a wide range of agencies and organizations, all focusing on the importance of protecting, restoring, recycling and reusing natural resources. In keeping with the focus on stewardship, students and teachers were asked to bring "waste-free" lunches and beverages.

"Earth Stewardship Day provides fun and interactive presentations that engage students to learn through hands-on activities," said Illinois EPA Director Lisa Bonnett. "Illinois EPA would like to thank the volunteers from other Agencies, who all work to make this annual event a great success."

Illinois EPA employees staffed four stations, including Environmental Jeopardy. In this popular interactive game, student volunteers compete against the clock and each other in an effort to correctly answer various environmental questions. The first team of students to come up with the correct answer was awarded points while the contestants who did not get the correct answer or did not answer quickly, get "trashed." Other Illinois EPA stations included Macroinvertebrate Mayhem, Toxic Relay, Recycle Dash and the Groundwater Flow Model.

"As farmers, we have a great responsibility on our hands," said IDOA Director Raymond Poe. "We are responsible for feeding and clothing the world. To be successful in that venture, we must do everything in our power to protect the land and soil we depend upon. Events like these, on Earth Stewardship Day, provide an outlet to teach the next generation key conservation practices and preservation techniques that will have a lasting impact on our Earth."

Special presenters also included nationally renowned environmental storyteller Brian "Fox" Ellis, of Fox Tales International in Peoria. Another special presenter was Joe Hand with the Wildlife Prairie State Park in Peoria presenting his IllinoisWildlife. Other presentations included the Global Warming-Save the Polar Bears created by Springfield's Grant Middle School, Humans in the Biosphere created by the Auburn High School Science Club, and six presentations are led by the University of Illinois at Springfield's Introduction to Environmental Education course.

This annual celebration of environmental protection and conservation is free and open to the first 900 students whose schools registered, depending on the number of presenters, with preference given to those schools that have not attended in the past year.

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