Family Field Day 2022
As part of the Land Learning Foundation’s mission to bring education opportunities to people of all ages, the Foundation hosted the Exploring Nature Family Field Day on September 10th.
Nearly 100 adults and kids participated in this event on a beautiful day in Eolia, MO. The event was held on a farm that is in a conservation land easement trust. The land manager has been restoring the site to improve wildlife habitat for deer, turkey and quail. Attendees were able to take a tour of the farm and hear about the successes and challenges of the restoration. They learned about invasive species, their effects on the ecosystem and control mechanisms; the steps and processes for planting food plots and native grass/wildflower habitats and their benefits as well as plans for improvements on the farm.
The day included hands-on opportunities to learn gun safety and shooting skills by members of the Missouri River Valley Quail Forever chapter. Archery with safety training was also available with the help of Missouri Conservation Hunter Education members.
The event included a talk on the benefits of prescribed fire as well as a talk on Composting from the MU Extension Office.
Our Critter Corner allowed attendees to learn about and get up close and personal with a Prairie Kingsnake, frogs, toads, butterflies, bees and some very friendly baby goats.
The Quad County Beekeepers were onsite with a live observation hive, USDA spoke about soil health and had demonstrations using their Rainfall Simulator, while the Soil and Water Conservation District shared information and their Watershed Table.
Also sharing the day with LLF were members from Missouri Trappers Assoc, Missouri Prairie Foundation, Missouri Bumble Bee Atlas, Mississippi Valley Master Naturalists, Groovy Gardener Master Gardeners, Heartland Seed of Missouri LLC, Natural Resource Conservation Service, and Missouri Department of Conservation. Bowling Green Equipment was onsite to show and discuss the equipment used on the farm. The Eolia Fire Dept, Lincoln County Ambulance District, and Air Evac Helicopter had equipment available for touring and staff to answer questions.
LLF provided a great lunch and Clopton Future Farmers of America volunteers served the food.
Through these participating organizations, LLF was able to share our passion for the outdoors by providing information on the opportunities and resources available for kids of all ages. For future LLF events, please visit our website (www.landlearning.org) or contact any of these great organizations to find out more about the opportunities and the programs available in your area.
We want to thank every organization who showed up to make this a remarkable event, including the landowner Duane Miller, and every participant who joined us. We will see you next year for the 2023 Family Field Day!
Click through the slideshow below to see photos!
