September is Perry County 4-H Forestry and Soil Field Days!
Even though it is a very dry fall and many of the leaves are already browning and on the ground, still in September, 4th and 5th graders are annually invited to participate in the Forestry and Soil field days to learn about concepts of trees – one of Kentucky’s most valuable natural resources! The youth use tools of the trade such as Biltmore sticks, compasses, and Soil Textural Triangle to measure, estimate, and see how the science and math works in real life uses. They see in action several of the jobs performed by foresters, soil scientists, and in other natural resources careers.
Six schools participated in this five hour workshop/event that was held in the outdoor classroom we call the Perry County Park, 330 youth and 24 adults, over the course of four days. Partnering with the Perry County 4-H Program each year is the KY Division of Forestry, NRCS or Natural Resource and Conservation Service, and the University of KY RCARS or Robinson Center for Appalachian Resource Sustainability. The youth learn to determine direction, estimate distances using pacing, identify local forestry trees, understand better about soil particles, and determine boardfoot in order to estimate the commercial value of timber. Each day the highest scoring youth are recognized for their scores in each of four events. This is about the 35th year for this program in Perry County...it has been modified from the state version as a direct result of leaders requesting additional education in the basics of soil sciences.
