Cedar Bog Assn., Champaign Family YMCA, other groups create Earth Day event

0

Over 600 2nd grade students from Graham, Mechanicsburg, Triad, Urbana and West Liberty-Salem schools attended the third Earth Day Project at Champaign Family YMCA’s Camp Shiffer on April 21.

Cedar Bog Site Manager Tracy Bleim applied for a grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Education Fund on behalf of the Outdoor Environmental Education Collaborative Outreach Committee of Champaign County (OEECOC) a few years ago. The grant supplied enviroscape models, plant identification displays, binoculars and other models and displays that could be borrowed by area teachers and OEECOC members for use in their classrooms or organizations.

The Earth Day event was thanks to a partnership of the Cedar Bog Association, Champaign Family YMCA, the North Central Ohio Solid Waste District, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Champaign Land Preservation Society, Valley View Woodlands, Urbana University, Freshwater Farms, and Champaign Soil & Water Conservation District, who helped organize the event.

A special thanks goes to KTH Parts Industries Inc. for donating a tree sapling for each 2nd grade student this year, as part of the event. Retired ODNR Forester Jim Bartlett provided information on planting and caring for the tree saplings that were donated by KTH during the Earth Day Event, as well.

This day-long outdoor environmental education experience for area students featured “learning stations” where students engaged in hands-on activities that utilized the enviroscape models, Project WET and Project Learning Tree materials and activities, Project WILD/Aquatic WILD activities, etc. The different learning stations allowed each class to rotate and learn about different environmental activities that encouraged habitat restoration activities among the participants and improved understanding of actions needed to sustain our air quality and water resources.

April 29 Cedar Bog activities

To help cover the cost of events such as this Earth Day Event, the Cedar Bog Association is sponsoring the Earth Day Walk/Run/Bike Tour today. Registration was this morning.

Cedar Bog Nature Preserve will also celebrate Earth Day with a nature-focused art show and free admission all day. See artists with unique wares, learn a little earth friendly information and enjoy the beginning of the blooming season at Cedar Bog. The annual Earth Day Art Show will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The event, which is free to the public, will include displays from local and regional artists who will also sell their work. Guests can also take a walk on the boardwalk and take photos of the many spring flowers, which should be in full bloom. Free naturalist-led tours will also be available on the hour from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will also be a native plant sale during this event.

Art on display will include jewelry, paintings, photography, and wood art.

The Cedar Bog Nature Preserve is located at 980 Woodburn Road, 4 miles South of Urbana. For more information on events at Cedar Bog, please call 937-484-3744 or email [email protected].

Jim Bartlett talks about caring for tree saplings during Cedar Bog’s Earth Day event.
https://www.urbanacitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/36/2017/04/web1_2017-04-21-09.37.42.jpgJim Bartlett talks about caring for tree saplings during Cedar Bog’s Earth Day event. Photo courtesy of Tracy Bleim

Urbana students Elayna Bleim, Joey Mitchell and Eliza Mitchell plant a tree sapling donated by KTH during Cedar Bog’s Earth Day event.
https://www.urbanacitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/36/2017/04/web1_2017-04-25-17.01.31.jpgUrbana students Elayna Bleim, Joey Mitchell and Eliza Mitchell plant a tree sapling donated by KTH during Cedar Bog’s Earth Day event. Photo courtesy of Tracy Bleim

By Tracy Bleim

Site Manager

Cedar Bog Nature Preserve

Submitted by Cedar Bog Nature Preserve.

No posts to display