Holmes SWCD day camp teaches forestry, wildlife and geology to students

Nearly 60 elementary students spent June 24 at Dave and Ginny Woodring’s Killbuck farm, where the Holmes County Soil and Water Conservation District turned a working farm into an outdoor classroom. The third annual Holmes SWCD camp took current second through fifth graders through forestry, wildlife and geology stations, with new activities in archaeology and geology drawing added interest.

The camp at Woodring Farm near Nashville gave children a close look at the land that shapes Holmes County’s farms, streams and back roads. Instead of hearing about conservation only in a classroom, students handled the subject in the open, on ground tied directly to the county’s agricultural life and rural landscape.

Holmes SWCD says its education work is built around in-classroom and camp programs on soil, water and other natural resources. The district also works with citizens, local agencies and private organizations to promote responsible land-use decisions, and it says the Holmes County commissioners provide the majority of its funding.

That mission showed up in the camp’s mix of topics. Forestry and wildlife fit naturally with a farm setting, while the added archaeology and geology stations broadened the lesson beyond trees and animals to the land beneath them. The district also uses the Enviroscape watershed model to teach nonpoint-source pollution, giving teachers and students a visual way to see how runoff can affect water quality.

The day camp also fits into a longer local conservation tradition. Holmes SWCD says its Tom Graham 5th Grade Conservation Farm Tour has run since 1965, and nearly 500 Holmes County fifth graders have taken part. The district calls that tour a rite of passage for county students, and the new camp extends that hands-on approach to younger grades.

Holmes SWCD’s broader education program includes teacher resources, natural resources project awards, scholarships for Camp Canopy and FFA Camp, and affiliate member donations that help support educational programs, educational materials, Envirothon expenses and teacher workshops. In Holmes County, where land use, farming and water quality affect families and businesses alike, the Woodring Farm camp showed how the district is trying to build the next generation of land stewards one lesson at a time.