DIO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 15, 1996
BERNVILLE (Berks Co.)
The Tulpehocken School Dis
trict’s third graders had a real treat
along with enjoyable tidbits of
knowledge recently.
The Tulpehocken High School
Agriculture Department spon
sored the third annual Elementary
Agriculture Science Adventure.
Under an overcast sky, the
weather was ignored as 156 third
graders bounded from station to
station learning how practices in
conservation, resources, soils, ani
mals, plants, water, and communi
ty practices in businesses and agri
culture work to preserve natural
resources in the nation.
The “Agriculture Science Ad
venture” was held at Mor-Dale
Farms, Myerstown. Managed by
Ralph and Crystal Moyer, this
beautiful family homestead is
home to 85 Holsteins, milked in a
parlor-frcestall setup. The modem
dairy farm also boasts many labor
saving buildings and practices.
According to Christine Wil
liams, Tulpehocken High School
Agriculture Education teacher,
lormlck, Caretaker of Soils“ Grass holds the
soil.”
Caretaker of Animals Chris Hytrek, clipper for use on cows.
School Kids Take Part In Science Adventure
this program was .developed
through materials from the Na
tional Livestock and Meat Board
and distributed by the Pennsylva
nia Beef Council.
“Caretaker All” is the central
theme of the materials. This
“Agriculture Science Adventure”
was initiated by the Tulpehocken
Agriculture Advisory CouSncil,
expanded by the Tulpehocken
Education Department, including
the Tulpehocken FFA and Young
Farmer Program, and the transpor
tation was sponsored by the Tul
pehocken PTOs.
This concentrated effort of joint
cooperation was also evident in
the key resource people from the
community, agencies, and exten
sion who manned the six different
educational stations geared to the
elementary level to introduce
“easy-10-leam” facts.
“We are trying to protect the w
ater,” said Carl Brown, represen
tative from the BFI Conestoga
Landfill, Morgantown, as he was
explaining the proper method to
dispose of wastes. Brown was as
Kids answer questions about what you might find In pond water If you took .It
through a microscope. From left, Kris Spohn, Adam Selverllng, Julie Ritchie, Che see
Uhrich, Amber Daub, lan Yiengst, Brad Clay, Brandon Gettle, Hank Correll, Brians
Jackson.
sisting David Varone, Berks
County recycling coordinator, at
the “Caretaker of Resources” sta
tion. With graphics and prizes for
correct answers. Brown intro
duced the “landfill sandwich” to
the youth who eagerly listened for
a chance for a recycled pen. They
learned that leachate is liquid pol
lution, felt the thickness of a land
fill liner, viewed diagrams of a
landfill piping system, and discov
ered what goes into the compac
tion of a “landfill sandwich.”
“Landfills recycle the land,”
Brown stated as he asked for uses
of the “new” land. Answers of
parks, golf courses, and ski slopes
earned rewards.
Acting as “Caretaker of the
Soil,” Randy McCormick, NRCS,
and students from the Introduction
To Agriculture‘Science class in
the Agriculture Department pro
vided students with experiments
exploring soil types and erosion.
“Which type of soil does water go
through faster?” he asked students
as he poured water into containers
holding clay soil, sand, and loam,
a mixture of sand, silt, and clay.
Tying in with the previous discus
sion from Brown and Varone, Mc-
Cormick said, “Grass holds the
soil.
“Erosion is any earth moving
that moves the soil around and
leaves runoff,” he said.
At the “Caretaker of Water”
(Turn to Page Dll)
Caretaker of Soils Randy McCormick shows sand and
clay to students.
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