17th Annual Earth Stewardship Day at Lincoln Park

SPRINGFIELD - Over 750 Sangamon County fourth graders are participating in the 17th annual Earth Stewardship Day at Lincoln Park today, hosted by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Springfield's Lincoln Park and other state agencies.

Between 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., students and their teachers are observing 29 interactive presentations and other special attractions being held throughout the Park.  The various presenters represent a wide range of agencies and organizations, all focusing on the importance of protecting, restoring, recycling and reusing natural resources.  In keeping with the focus on stewardship, students and teachers were asked to make sure lunches and beverages were "waste-free."

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois Departments of Agriculture, Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and Natural Resources, Transportation, along with the Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the city of Springfield and the Illinois State Treasurer's office jointly sponsored this year's event.

"Earth Stewardship Day provides a hands-on, fun approach to learning about our environment and ways to protect it so that the young environmental stewards here today inherit a healthy world full of opportunity," said Illinois EPA Director Doug Scott. "My thanks to staff members from all of the agencies who have devoted so much time and energy to make this day happen."

Illinois EPA employees staffed five stations, including "Environmental Jeopardy."  In this interactive game, student volunteers compete against the clock and each other in an effort to correctly answer various environmental questions.  The first students to come up with the correct answer are awarded points while the contestants who did not get the correct answer or did not answer quickly, get "trashed."  Other Illinois EPA stations included Macroinvertebrate Mayhem, Recycle Dash, Toxic Relay, and the Groundwater Model.

Special presenters also included environmental storytellers Brian "Fox" Ellis, of Fox Tales International in Peoria and Dan Keding of DanTales in Urbana, both of whom are nationally renowned.  Another special presenter was Joe Hand with the Wildlife Prairie State Park in Peoria presenting his "Illinois Birds of Prey."

Butch Fisher with the Douglas County Soil and Water Conservation District, who has been involved in education events for many years, will demonstrate how to prevent erosion with his "Rainfall Simulator." Also, long-time educators Duane Friend and Jodie Tate, from the University of Illinois Extension, have presentations on "Migration Game" and "Streams and Rivers."

Another special presentation included this year is the Global Warming Project created by Springfield's Grant Middle School's 7^th grade Illinois Math and Science Academy class.

This annual celebration of environmental protection and conservation is free and open to the first 750 students whose schools registered, with preference given to those schools that have not attended in the past two years.

For more information about this annual event, please contact Kristi Morris-Richards, Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Illinois EPA at (217) 558-7198.