One of Green County's greatest assets is our natural resources which are used for sources of income for families, production of food, recreation, and aesthetic enjoyment. These resources are gifts from previous generations and instilling the appreciation and conservation of them for future generations is an important goal for developing youth into productive citizens.  

Green County 4-H provides educational programming connecting youth and their families to our natural habitats.  Youth discover their connection to food webs through interactive, hands-on activities and see the potential for abuse when humans make bad decisions.  221 youths completed a special interest project studying an owl's food chain. Through scientific methods and studying owls, the youth learned how animal species are connected in our environment. With owl pellets, the youth collected bones from the pellet and used charts to identify the owl's previous meals.  For our area, the youth discovered that owls love moles, voles, mice, and sparrows.  Owls can consume 3-5 per day typically of these prey.  The youth were able to identify why controlling these rodents was important as it reduced the loss of agricultural resources and limited the spread of diseases.  The youth then rationalized why owls are protected and have no hunting seasons.  The youth were asked to draw similarities between the owl's food chain and that of snakes.  Snakes are not protected animals and also love many of the same prey.  Killing snakes, one child said, would cause the mice population to go "crazy."  

When youth realize how our natural resources are connected, they are less likely to make decisions that place these valuable assets in peril.  Through a dissection of an owl pellet, youth use bone charts to discover the items connected to the owl's food chain including mice, moles, voles and sparrows.