By: Patrick Troyer, Paulding SWCD
The 2019 Paulding County Fair is quickly approaching and the Paulding Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) is preparing some great activities for you and your family! New this year, our booth will be in a white tent right on the midway! Come on out to enjoy some great make-n-take activities as well as meeting the Paulding SWCD Staff & Board of Supervisors who are happy to highlight the work our office is doing throughout Paulding County. We will also have finalists from our annual Conservation Poster Contest and Photo contests for the public to cast their vote for. Wait, there’s more! We have some fabulous door prizes to giveaway, so be sure to stop by our booth and put your name in for a chance to win!
The Paulding SWCD will have activities on Monday, June 10th, Wednesday, June 12th, Friday, June 14th from 12:00pm until 3:00pm on each of these days. Monday’s theme is “Don’t Hurt the Dirt”, where visitors will have the learn about soil horizons and soil health by making their own edible soil! This activity takes chocolate chops, butterscotch chips, chocolate pudding, Oreo cookies, green food coloring, and gummy worms to learn about what makes up each soil horizon and the life living in the soil. Be sure to stop by for this great tasting activity! Another activity you can take part in for the day is by making your own Cover Crop Critter! Like a Chia Pet®, the Cover Crop Critter will allow visitors to learn about the amazing benefits of cover crops and watch their seed grow!
Monday will also feature our Streamulator model available to learn about how streams work. The Streamulator model allows visitors to the power of moving water as streams meander and cut their way through the landscape. The effects of erosion and weathering are also visible with this model allowing visitors to see how erosion is a powerful force that changes the landscape on a continual basis. Visitors with the stream table have the opportunity build a community with buildings, bridges, and trees in such a way that it would be safe from any flood or rain event if the stream overflowed its banks. The Streamulator allows visitors to get their hands dirty in the sand and water to investigate erosion, floodplains, and the workings of streams.
Wednesday’s theme is “Water Quality-It’s Everyone’s Business” where the main activity of the day will allow visitors to learn how their daily activities have an impact on the quality of our water resources. Visitors will make their own “Lake in a Bag” where they will start out with a bag with clear gel to represent a nice clean lake but notice how quickly the quality of the water in their lake changes once pollutants such as fertilizer, pet waste, car fluids, and more affect the quality of their water and lead to the formation of algal blooms that close beaches and impact drinking water supplies.
Also on Wednesday, our booth will feature two of our Enviroscape models one of which will allow visitors to see the effects that non-point source pollution has on the environment and the other model will focus on wetlands and the services they provide to the environment such as helping with flood control or providing habitat for wildlife.
Nonpoint source point pollution is where the source of pollution is unknown and could be coming from a wide variety of sources. The Nonpoint Pollution Enviroscape allows visitors to see the negative impacts this pollution has on our environment and water resources. Wetlands are areas of land that are covered with water for most of the year and provide multiple benefits to the environment such as flood control, sediment trapping, and filtering out pollution. Come check out our Wetlands Enviroscape model to learn more!
Friday’s theme is “It’s Wild Out There” where visitors will enjoy learning about and viewing our Ohio wildlife skins and pelts, make a “Ladybug Puppet” craft, or an owl craft. The focus for this day will be all about the outdoors and the many great creatures found there. Activities for this day will include the opportunity to view our Ohio wildlife fur and pelt collection. Did you know that black bears are active mainly at night to avoid people or other bears or that they can run up to 30 miles per hour? Come learn these facts and more with us!
A scavenger hunt through the Black Swamp Nature Center will also be featured on Friday. Those who wish to take part in the scavenger hunt will need to meet at our booth on the midway. We will begin at 12:15pm and take approx. 30 minutes to complete the trek through the trails with a second session taking place at 1:30pm. Be sure to join the Paulding SWCD at the Paulding County Fair June 10th, 12th, and 12th to enjoy some great activities, vote on our poster and photo contest finalists, grab some giveaway items, and see how our office helps to serve the residents of Paulding County, one person at a time! Look for our tent on the midway!
