Perryville Elementary School fourth-graders gained an up-close-and-personal experience in science Friday at the Central Kentucky Wildlife Refuge.
“It’s a hands-on experience. Some students don’t get to go out of their neighborhoods,” said Catherine Logue, a Perryville Elementary science teacher. She said the trip allows students to understand there is a resource that is free and close by.
When the environmental camp first was started, students were taken to Carlisle for an overnight trip. However, organizers eventually scaled back, resulting in the one-day camp.
The students went on nature hikes; visited the Bird Blind, a building at the refuge where the birds come to eat; and learn geology lessons from rocks found within the refuge. They also were visited by retired teachers and by Kim Ragland, Boyle County Extension Agent for 4-H.
“4-H is community driven,” Ragland explains, adding the extension office wants to be involved when the schools and others are conducting such events. She teaches the children the water cycle using a game, which helps the kids build their own bracelet to take home and remember the steps of the cycle.
“This gives the children a knowledge of what is outside the classroom,” said Kecia Elliott, an instructional assistant at Perryville Elementary. She helped the students dissect owl pellets. “They’re seeing it in its natural state.”
These hands-on experiences have affected the students’ test scores in positive ways, according to Logue, who says the school has witnessed “great achievement” from the scores.
“It’s a good life-learning experience for the kids and they enjoy it,” Logue says.
SO YOU KNOW
The Central Kentucky Wildlife Refuge is a 500-acre preserve located on Carpenter Creek Road, near Parksville. It is open from dawn to dusk year-round. For more information about the refuge, visit ckwr.org.
