Lower Sangamon River RC&D Projects

More than 230 Mason County third graders enjoyed an outdoor learning experience Friday at Riverfront Park in Havana.  The Discovery Days learning event involved conservation, ecology, natural and cultural history through demonstrations and hands-on projects. 

Volunteers from US. Fish & Wildlife Service, Illinois Dept of Natural Resources, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Illinois Natural History Survey, Menard County Soil & Water Conservation District, University of Illinois Extension and Mason County Soil & Water Conservation District manned 11 stations.  Among the most popular stations were: 

• Illinois Icons - students learned about state symbols and made and kept a bracelet that represents the symbols
• Dentition Detective - skulls and teeth of different animals were examined and students tried to identify the animal.
• Ecosystem Awareness - students learned about the habitat of fish and turtles and were able to handle live fish and turtles
• Cultural Resources - students compared today's lifestyles to that of Native American children.  Students made a kept a game played by Native American children.

The event was organized by the Mason County Soil & Water Conservation District and University of Illinois Extension - Mason Unit.  The event was funded through a grant by the Lower Sangamon River RC&D, Mason County SWCD and the University of Illinois Extension - Mason Unit.

        

              Boys having fun with the fish                                                                          Girls looking at the frogs

Menard County Ag Discovery Day                                      

 
Porta School Children at Ag Discovery Day

On September 19, 2007 Menard County held their second annual Ag Discovery Day.  Porta Central, Greenview and Cantrall schools were present with a total of 192 kids participating in eight different activities.  The following stations were at the Ag Discovery Day:  Beekeeping, Life Cycle of a Frog, Streamtable, Mineral and Rock Box, Farm Safety, Corn and soybean Products, 4-H and Entomolgy. 

Funding provided by the Lower Sangamon River RC&D and from the University of Illinois SARE Program allowed for every student to have: 

• mid-morning snack and bottled water
• sack lunch which included hot dogs (donated by Cargill in Beardstown), chips, soda, fruit snacks, tootsie rolls, napkins and condiments
• logo printed drawstring backpacks stuffed with educational workbooks, erasers, rulers, tattoos, and stickers.  The teachers received additional materials for educators.

• An Autumn Blaze Red Maple tree was presented to each school.  We held a trivia tournament after lunch to test what the students learned.  The winning class from each school took the tree back with them.

City of Virginia Recycles

The Lower Sangamon River RC&D was a sponsor for the City of Virginia Recycles project.  Through the efforts of Amy Hardwick a grant was received from the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO) to purchase the recycling container.  Other organizations that  donated in-kind services were:  City of Virginia, Cass County SWCD, Cass County Board of Supervisors, Cass County Health Department, F & W Resources, Inc., Cass Communications and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. 

Below are a few pictures that were taken on dedication day.
 
 
 
 

Panther Creek Challenge

The Lower Sangamon River RC&D has sponsored the annual Panther Creek Challenge Mountain Bike Race that is held at the Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish & Wildlife Area.  Over the course of the day, different age groups and divisions compete.  The beginners ride five miles with the experts riding 34 miles.  Riders come from Missouri, Iowa, northern Illinois as well as Springfield and the surrounding area. 

 Cass County Ag Day
 
 

Students enjoying the animals

Students listening at the Mineral and Rock Box

Cass County Ag Day is held each year the first week of May.  Approximately 300 students attend from kindergarten through fifth grade.  Some of the stations include farm animals, farm safety, how to plant a flower, wildlife furs, conservation bingo, and ant farms.  Some of the agencies represented each year are U of I Extension, Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources, Illinois Dept. of Fish & Wildlife, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the FFA kids.  Lunch is provided for everyone.  The sponsors of Ag Day include the Cass County SWCD, U of I Extension Office of Cass/Schuyler and the Lower Sangamon River RC&D.  Every student receives a packet of information to take with them and the sponsors are listed in their packet. 
 

Students enjoying lunch at Ag Day

Students displaying their backpacks and flowers

Mushroom Workshop

"Gardening with Shiitake Mushrooms"

Lower Sangamon River Resource Conservation & Development  and the Menard County SWCD hosted a Shiitake Mushroom Workshop at the Farm Bureau Building in Petersburg.

Shiitake mushrooms are edible mushrooms with a rich, woodsy flavor, which have many culinary uses.  These mushrooms grow in open woodlands in Japan, China, and the United States, on dead broad-leafed trees such as oak. Shiitake mushrooms can also, be cultivated in the garden on logs inoculated with commercially available spawn. These logs can bear fruit for many years.

The workshop included presentations on "how-to" grow and use shiitake mushrooms by Ken Konsis (Vermilion County Conservation District) and Bob Sloan (Prairie River RC&D the Illinois Forestry Development Council). Participants inoculated a log to take home to grow their own shiitake mushrooms.

For more information about Shiitake mushrooms--http://www.vccd.org/shiitake.html.

Past Projects -  Dry Hydrants

Four dry hydrants were installed in Christian County to provide fire protection to under-served rural areas lacking an adequate water supply. lnstallation of the projects involves the cooperation of various rural fire protection districts.   The  location  of the dry hydrants  has been entered into a statewide database.
 
 

Project Request Application

To request project assistance, download our application and send it in to:

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