By: Patrick Troyer, Education Specialist
Educators from Paulding County recently attended the Black Swamp Education Extravaganza held recently at Sauder Village in Archbold, OH. Among those from Paulding County in attendance were: Wendy Baker (Grover Hill Elementary), Linda Plassman (Antwerp Elementary), and Linda Mabis (Antwerp Elementary). Among other attendees were educators from Defiance, Allen, Fulton, Defiance, and Sandusky County schools. The theme for the 2017
Paulding County educators attended the Black Swamp Educator’s Extravaganza recently. Pictured are (left to right): Wendy Baker (Grover Hill Elementary), Patrick Troyer, Linda Mabis (Antwerp Elementary), and Marie Plassman (Antwerp Elementary).
event held June 20-21-22 (Tuesday-Thursday) was “Times of Change” in which all in attendance enjoyed a variety of educational tours, speakers, as well as enjoying a variety of make-n-take activities to bring back into their classrooms.
First off, what is the Black Swamp Education Extravaganza (BSEE)? BSEE is a conference put on by the Northwest Ohio Soil & Water Conservation Districts which consists of the following county SWCD’s: Paulding, Defiance, Williams, Fulton, Lucas, Wood, Ottawa and Van Wert counties. The conference is open to teachers, non-formal educators, and all who are interested in learning great activities and information on environmental education as well as enjoying great tours of the surrounding area of businesses or groups passionate about conservation. It is typically held the 3rd week of June every year in each of the various counties in this partnership.
On Tuesday, the first day of the conference, participants were greeted and welcomed by Education Specialists Becky Simpson (Ottawa County), Amanda Podach (Fulton County), Patrick Troyer (Paulding County), Anne Marie Michaels (Williams County), Julie Lause/Nicki Kale (Wood County), Jamie Kochensparger (Lucas County), and Stephanie Singer (Defiance County). First on the agenda was a casket making tour at the Sauder facility. Sauder Funeral products was established in 1934 and applies many years of furniture manufacturing experience to make a set of affordable funeral products. Many people asked what made them go into the casket making businesses and the response was that they needed to adapt their products to the changing times as one employee suggested they build “underground furniture” and the rest is history as the saying goes.
Following the casket making tour, everyone was treated to a SWCD Conservation Practices Tour of practices being implanted at Sauder Village. Jackie Savage & Pete Carr from Fulton SWCD led the tour and explained that Sauder Village currently has several conservation practices being implemented including a filter strip, grassed waterway, a couple windbreaks, subsurface drainage, and cover crops currently in place. Jackie Savage talked to the group about wildflower identification and talked about ways to identify flowers out in nature.
During lunch, everyone was treated to a program by Kim Krieger on the history of Erie Sauder. In her program, Krieger said that in 1976, Erie Sauder constructed his “living history village” to help people who come to visit about the pioneers who once inhabited this area. Erie wanted to build a lasting experience in which everyone would come to know and love the values that helped form Northwest Ohio. His vision created what is now a 235-acre complex that very much brings history alive for all who visit!
Following lunch, participants were sent on a self-tour of Sauder Village in which they could check out the many amenities available such as the General Store, Doughbox Bakery, and various other Olde Time Shops.
Wednesday’s activities started with each SWCD Education Specialist presenting a variety of “Make-N-Take” activities for each teacher/educator. Participants learned about activities such as Pollinator Pizza, Lake in A Bag, Grocery Bag Botany, Ag Relay, Cookies from the Soil, Non-Edible Soils, and NPK Bracelets. Participants rotated around the room in groups to receive a 15-minute summary of each program. They were given a summary of discussion points with each activity, how to conduct the activity, and supplies to conduct the activity.
After lunch, everyone raveled to Knotty Vine Winery to enjoy a tour of the wine making process. Following the winery visit, a trip was then made to Turkeyfoot Creamery.
Thursday started out with a visit to Goll Woods in Fulton County. According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Goll Woods State Nature Preserve is the least disturbed woodland that is known to exist in northwest Ohio and contains some of the largest trees remaining in our state. It is truly one of the best ways to see what the Black Swamp looked like back in its heyday. Following Goll Woods, participants enjoyed a presentation from Wood SWCD Board Supervisor Ron Snyder on Soil Health. After lunch, everyone then learned from beekeeper Roger Meyers on the importance of bees and pollinators.
The afternoon tour included a stop at Nature Fresh Farms near Delta, Ohio which is a produce farm which seeks to offer residents an option locally for fresh produce that is picked, packed, and shipped to your neighborhood grocery store within 24 hours and reducing “food miles”. Nature Fresh grows produce year-round in their greenhouse facilities. The Delta facility focuses their operations on growing tomatoes with varieties developed for Ohio. They pride themselves with reducing the “food miles” from farm to store which ultimately reduces their carbon footprint.
Our group traveled back to Sauder Village for conference wrap up and evaluations. After evaluations, everyone was sent on their way with the new activities and knowledge they received fully ready to spread the conservation message with their students! Stay tuned for details on the 2018 edition of the Black Swamp Education Extravaganza, who knows what great learning opportunities it might entail!
