Fifth-graders from across the county came together at Camp Alexander on Tuesday for a day-long education on nature and, by osmosis, the value of recycling. The camp has scheduled a second day-long event on Thursday.
The field trips have been scheduled to coincide with Earth Day activities.
The students divided into groups and spent the day trekking from station to station to learn more about the topics chosen for the year. Exercise was built into the curriculum, as the youngsters divided into small groups and hiked up and down the hilly campgrounds.
Unlike some earlier events, adults and children alike could hardly have hoped for better weather on Tuesday, from the start at 9:30 a.m. to the end at 3 p.m.
“We’ve had hot, miserable days. We’ve had rainy, cold, shivery days,” said Jan Huston, a long-time educator and assistant for the event. “This is perfect.”
Students stood or sat on mats on the ground as they learned about water, recycling, trees, composting, Kansas wildlife and Kansas mussels. Two hiking sections and art also were included in the activities.
Angela Anderson, education director for the David Traylor Zoo of Emporia, brought an SUV full of animals to show the children. They were given close-up and hands-on experience with a short-eared owl, alligator and common turtles, a screech owl, a hog-nosed snake and a common king snake.
At the recycling stop, Tracey Graham sorted her collection of red wiggler worms — they’re almost professional compost-makers — while Tony Zouplna and Huston led a session on composting.
Zouplna talked to the students about composting with greens, for the nitrogen they produce, and browns, for the carbon. It’s a mode of recycling that, when done right, uses certain waste products to produce a new product of high quality.
The “browns” can include dried leaves and grasses, perennials, sawdust, shredded paper, and even small twigs. All will decompose into the rich black-brown residue used in gardens and lawns.
Zouplna told them to avoid using bones, dairy products, meats and other waste that attract wild animals and pests within the compost pile. Oily products, like grease and peanut butter, can suffocate the compost and using greens that are invasive can ruin the project.
“I would definitely say dandelions and broadleaf weeds are invasive,” he added.
The compose pile needs to be kept moist “like a sponge you’ve wrung out” and have sunlight. The pile itself can heat up to 160 degrees.
“It can even work in the winter,” Zouplna said. “You may even see steam coming off it on a cold morning.”
Good compost, he said, does not have the rotten odor that a carelessly made compost pile exhibits.
“If it does, that’s an indication something’s not right,” he said. “The greens and browns are not in balance.”
Graham showed the students the small red wiggler worms she uses for her indoor composting. She’d initially bought a pound of the small worms and has since given away many of them to friends for their own indoor compost piles. Shredded papers, carrot and strawberry tops and other good ingredients give the worms a good environment for eating through the waste and expelling it into compost.
The wigglers, which she called “compost specialists,” cannot tolerate temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit or above 80 degrees.
“That’s why they live in my house,” Graham said.