STEM Festival at Lyons Mill Elementary School!
As the first leaves of autumn began to fall, SDCI helped local schoolchildren learn about science and conservation with our display at Lyons Mill Elementary School, which is located less than three miles from Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area in Owings Mills and is home to more than 39 rare and endangered species of flora and fauna. We were surprised that some parents were unaware that Maryland's single most significant biodiversity site lies in such close proximity to their homes. It was clear that some friendly, fun-filled education was in order!
SDCI President Laura Van Scoyoc, Vice President Lynell Tobler, and SDCI board member Josh Day arrived early at the campus to set up our display: tables filled with rocks (signifying the unique geology), plants (signifying the threat of invasives to the native flora), and other artifacts that make Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area, a state-designated wildland, such a rare and wonderful place of exploration and discovery for young and old alike.
Laura tailored our exhibit for a younger crowd, creating imaginative bulletin boards to explain why littering is bad, invasive plant species are worse, and periodic prescribed burning of those invasive plants is critical to keeping non-native species at bay so native flora can thrive.
To illustrate our point, Laura handed out milkweed seedpods to interested children and their parents. Milkweed is the single most important host plant for the monarch butterfly, and spreading native milkweed seeds around the neighborhood helps to promote both native plants and the pollinators that need them to thrive!
Next to our exhibit, Lynell set up our popular "prescribed burn activity for children," an interactive game in which children used genuine prescribed-burn water-bladder backpacks with hand-pump nozzles to spray water at faux flames.
Children gleefully lined up to participate as volunteers Natalie Snyder and Edwin Guevara explained to their curious parents how periodic burning of the habitat is a critical step in beating back invasive greenbrier and other intrusive species, which in turn allows dormant native grass seeds to finally have enough light, air circulation, and space to germinate and grow.
Children got a feel for what it's like to wear a 50-pound backpack full of water while manipulating a hand pump sprayer to control flames in a wildland setting. SDCI got a chance to spread the word about our mission at Soldiers Delight: to educate the public about Soldiers Delight and to conserve and restore its rare and endangered ecosystem for future generations.
In no time at all, the line to participate in our burn activity for children stretched long. We counted 375 visitors to our booth during the two-hour event! That's 375 children and adults who learned what a treasure the Soldiers Delight habitat is -- right around the corner from their homes! Thank you, Lyons Mill Explorers PTA and Lyons Mill Elementary School faculty, for inviting us to participate in your important festival. We were delighted to be there.
