The Steuben County Soil and Water Conservation recently announced that the District was recently awarded two grants to help give youth and adults a better understanding and appreciation of our natural resources and the need for conservation.

The Steuben SWCD was awarded a grant from the Ralph E. Taylor Conservation Fund, through the Steuben County Community Foundation, to assist with educational expenses associated with conducting our Youth Conservation Field Day, scheduled Tuesday, September 10, 2019 at Pokagon State Park. Since 1985, the Steuben SWCD has teamed with multiple community partners who have a vested interest in natural resources, to host a conservation education program targeting 4th grade elementary students from the Fremont and MSD School Districts. Each year, approximately 300 students & teachers spend a day at Pokagon State Park learning about the importance of healthy ecosystems and conserving our precious natural resources.

The goal is to teach students using a hands-on approach, and begin to establish a conservation foundation within each student that could last their lifetime. The Conservation Field Day format includes students rotating between six stations which focus on earth and space science, fisheries, forestry, soils, water quality and wildlife. Students also learn about solid waste management from a presentation by the Dumpster Drummers, an educational performance group from Fort Wayne that use the arts to teach recycling and environmental conservation. Students and teachers all receive educational materials at the end of the field day to compliment what they learned. The Ralph E. Taylor Conservation Fund grant will be used to offset costs associated with the educational materials and educational performance.

A grant was also received from The Steuben County Community Center’s Spirit of Community Fund to help the district create a 3D Interactive Augmented Reality Sandbox (ARS) unit, an important water quality and soil educational tool. This tool combines 3D visualization applications with a hands-on sandbox exhibit to teach earth science concepts such as geography, geology, topography, soils, watersheds, and water movement across the landscape. The AR Sandbox allows users to create topographic models by shaping real sand, which is then augmented in real time by an elevation color map, topographic contour lines, and simulated, flowing water.