All About Nature ; Kids Get Hands-on Lessons From Conservation Experts

May 24, 03:52 PM

Current Headlines: By CHRIS YOUNG

Sometimes, kids just need to be reminded how Mother Nature works.

Herb Dreier, who coordinates the Illinois Department of Natural Resources urban fishing program, was quizzing kids Wednesday during Conservation Day at the Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area near Chandlerville.

About 110 kids a day were exposed to a variety of outdoor and environmental issues, from recycling to fisheries management, during the two-day event.

Dreier likes to start his talk by discussing eco-systems and the food chain.

This time, the kids did pretty well at coming up with the four elements needed for survival: food, water, oxygen and shelter.

But the answer isn't always clear to everyone.

"One time I asked the kids what are the four things you need to survive and one of them said, 'the Internet,' " he says with a laugh.

Later, as fifth-grade students from Athens and Beardstown handle live fish, turtles and crayfish, Dreier explains that the hands-on experience is important because those living in urban areas don't always have the chance to connect with nature.

"Even some of these kids from rural areas have never handled these animals before," he says.

University of Illinois Extension, Cass/Schuyler Unit, sponsored Conservation Day, pulling in representatives from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Raptor Center.

Much of the teaching touched upon people's interaction with nature and use of natural resources.

Several stations were set up in a public area near Prairie Lake, including a recycling relay that challenged kids to sort trash into recyclable, reusable and throw-away.

Jenny Rossi and Nancy Gutmann-Kelly of IEPA say it's not enough to recycle. Kids need to encourage their parents to purchase products made with recycled materials, effectively "closing the loop."

DNR district fisheries biologist Dan Stephenson says biologists intensely manage fisheries to be sure there are enough fish to go around.

"It seems like everybody likes to catch lots and big ones," he says. "And that's why we have a job."

Of Illinois' more than 12 million residents, about 1 million went fishing last year, he says.

Illinois is one of the top five heavily fished states in the nation, Stephenson adds. That's why resource managers try to improve habitat, stock additional fish and manage populations with regulations and limits.

"If we let everyone take home everything they catch, in a few years there won't be many left," he says.

DNR conservation police officer Chris Stone echoes the point when he tells kids about the evolution of wildlife laws.

People who hunted realized wildlife populations were in trouble as early as the mid-1800s, he says. But laws to protect deer, turkeys and others were slow in coming. Many were passed after it was nearly too late, and those that were on the books were not properly enforced.

In 1885, Illinois had only three game wardens, who chased violators on horseback and took trains from one part of the state to another.

Today, the conservation police department numbers about 160.

The very definition of conservation is to save for a later date, he says.

"Hopefully, 100 years from now or 200 years from now there will still be deer, still be turkeys and still be coal."

While kids learned about the critical role people play in resource conservation, they also learned humans aren't always in control.

"How many of you have every been swimming in the ocean?" Dreier asks. "When you were in the water, were you in the food chain? What's at the top of the food chain there?"

"Shark," mumbles one student.

"Did you want to be in the food chain?" he asks.

"Noooooo."

(c) 2007 State Journal Register. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.