Success StoryLocal Youth Solve CSI Cases using Natural Resources



Local Youth Solve CSI Cases using Natural Resources

Author: Alexandria Bryant

Planning Unit: Breckinridge County CES

Major Program: Natural Resources 4-H Core Curriculum

Plan of Work: Practicing stewardship of local natural resources

Outcome: Intermediate Outcome

Kentucky’s natural resources play an important role in our state’s social, economic, and environmental well-being. Kentucky has over 91,000 miles of rivers and streams, more than 225,000 acres of ponds, lakes, and reservoirs, and Kentucky is 48% forested. The forestry sector alone contributed an estimated $14.6 billion in total economic contribution in 2015, and provided more than 57,000 jobs. Kentucky’s woodlands are vital, providing homes to a wide diversity of wildlife, protecting our water resources, and supplying clean air, in addition to providing recreation area. Kentucky is rich in natural resources, and there is a growing need for Environmental Education among youth to develop knowledge and skills, instill an interest in natural resources and the outdoors, and gain a better understanding of environmental impacts. To address these needs, the Extension Offices in Breckinridge County and Webster County collaborated by planning Environmental Day Camps at West Kentucky 4-H Camp with a CSI theme. This theme aimed to provide a fun and unique method for educating youth about natural resources and provide hands-on, problem solving experiences. Eighty-three 4th graders from Breckinridge County and 60 4th graders from Webster County attended. Students solved crimes at four hands-on learning stations using knowledge of natural resources. Students learned skills including flower dissection, identifying flower parts, using a dichotomous plant key, identifying insects, insect life cycles, using maggots and beetles to determine time and location of death, soil identification, soil properties, and lip / finger print analysis. After attending the Environmental Camp, 88% of youth had a better understanding of the roles of insects in the Ecosystem, 73% felt confident in their ability to identify different types of soils, and 91% could identify the parts of a flower and use a key to identify a plant. Surveys indicated 97% of youth learned how evidence from the environment can help solve crimes, 82% of youth could identify different natural resources in their community, and 97% could explain the importance of taking care of the environment and habitats for wildlife. In addition, after participating in Environmental Camp, youth made changes in their behavior at home and school. Sixty-one percent of participants conserved water use and other natural resources, 70% worked on projects to protect a natural resource (e.g. water, wildlife, soil, etc.), and 76% of youth now consider environmental impacts when they make decisions. The CSI Environmental Day Camps expanded the knowledge, skills, and decision making practices of Breckinridge and Webster County youth.






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