Troy sees the need
Phil Taunton
Friday, August 24, 2007
As I write this week’s column, I see we have a chance for rain.
There also is a hint of cooler weather in the forecast for this weekend.
I have my fingers crossed, hoping this prediction will hold true. Lord knows we need the rain. Wifeus could even forsake golf for a day or two and, heaven forbid, spend a little more time in the kitchen for the good of all concerned!
It’s been a long, hot summer.
An Outdoor Adventures “Tip of the Hat” to Troy Chapman and the kids at Riverside Elementary School here in Emporia.
Each year, the National Wild Turkey Federation recognizes deserving classroom teachers who have been instrumental in working with their students in a most wonderful learning environment: the Great Outdoors. The National Wild Turkey Federation’s 2007 Conservation Educator of the Year winners demonstrate innovative teaching techniques using educational conservation materials provided through the NWTF.
With more and more teachers seeing the need to reach out to their students with concerns for our natural world and for conservation, the competition was stiff to say the least.
Troy was awarded third place in this year’s national competition. He teaches fourth grade at Riverside.
Early on, he received a grant from the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks to implement an Outdoor Wildlife Learning Site (OWLS) program on school property.
Besides a nice plaque to note his achievement and outstanding contribution, Troy also received another grant to help him with his outdoor classroom endeavors.
With his guidance, students at Riverside have constructed an animal tracking area, a habitat area conducive to quail and other songbirds, shelter belts, a butterfly garden, a split-rail fence with flowering vines, a wildlife observatory area, native tall grass prairie area, bird baths and feeding stations. They also have erected wood duck and bat houses and created various food plots for wildlife.
Some teachers use the NWTF’s Wild about Turkey Education Boxes in their teaching exercises. The box is free to educators and provides the classroom with materials that tell the story of the wild turkey’s restoration in an exciting and colorful way. These materials help educators teach students about wildlife, natural history, biology and conservation. These “Wild about Turkey” Education Boxes educate students not only on core curriculum subjects, but conservation as well.
The education box is a scale replica of the turkey transport box used by wildlife agencies like the Kansas Wildlife and Parks. They contain a number of teaching tools, including a complete set of multi-curriculum lesson plans, a full-color bulletin board kit, an entertaining video and multimedia CD/ROM, a poster, reference material and other items just for the students. The students at Riverside also recycle plastic. They use the money they make to subsidize their outdoor wildlife learning site program and to buy bird seed. Donations are welcome and can be sent to Riverside School, 327 S. West St. Emporia, KS, 66801. Please write “OWLS project” on the outside of the envelope.
Congratulations, Troy, and to all the students at Riverside who are just wild about learning the ways of nature. Through his tutelage, the knowledge and experience the kids acquire through participation in the OWLS project will last them a lifetime.
And really, isn’t that what education is all about?
Locally, The Flint Hills Gobblers of the NWTF awards a “Teacher of the Year” plaque at their banquet each year to honor a teacher who uses the turkey education box and/or uses conservation in their teachings. Troy won this award in 2006.
For more information about the use of the boxes and how to acquire one of these great teaching aids, area teachers are encouraged to contact Gib Rhodes, (620) 437-2012.
Here’s hoping the drought will break for the good of our plants, flowers and wildlife. I do find solace in one thought: My yard looks just as good as the neighbors after this stressful summer — both are turning brown.
The only other time they are comparable is during the winter when both are covered with snow!