Environmental Education

Cherokee County Conservation offers a variety of programming for schools, scouts, and 4-H groups, as well as scheduling year-round programming open to the public. We strive for quality programming and can adjust to fit school science standards, badge requirements, or special requests.

Below is a list of some programs currently offered. Most programs are 45 minutes to 1 hour long and can be altered to fit different age levels. If you don’t see something that interests you, please call and make a request. Requests need to be made a minimum of two weeks before the date the program is needed.

Programs are free of charge.

Jr. Naturalists (kindergarten & under) This monthly program includes a mix of hands-on activities like crafts, songs, stories, and games. Each month is on a different topic.

Bugs (preK-2nd) Students will learn about the interesting characteristic, life cycles, and body parts of spiders and insects through various hands-on activities.
 
Reptiles (preK-2nd) Enjoy hands-on investigation with a turtle and a snake! Take a closer look at how a snake jaw works, various turtle shells, and more. (Can be broken down into either a turtle or snake program.)
 
Winter Wildlife (preK-4th) Students will look at various Iowa animals and their adaptations for surviving the winter. Do they hibernate, migrate, or adapt? Can include Jan Brett’s “The Mitten” story.
 
Fur, Feathers, & Scales (K-2nd) Students will learn characteristics and several adaptations of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish by looking at and touching various body parts.
 
Polar Animals (1st-3rd) Where do the penguins and the polar bears live? How do they survive the cold? Learn about the importance of fur, fat, and feathers while looking at polar animals.
 
Geology Rocks (3rd & up) Students will learn the different types of rocks, the rock cycle, and how humans benefit from rocks.
 
Enviroscape (4th-6th) Take a closer look at a 3-D model and images of our watershed. Where does our water go and where does it come from? What are these landforms called? We’ll perform experiments on our model to view human impacts on our water.
 
Canoeing/Kayaking (4th & up) Learn water safety and a few tips and tricks before hitting the water. Canoes provide a great team building activity while kayaking makes for a good self-esteem builder.
 
Finding Your Way (4th & up) Ever used a compass? Or a GPS? Talking about road maps, latitude longitude, topographic maps, and more will help us figure out how to get from A to B with either a GPS or a compass. Using a GPS unit, we’ll also discuss geocaching and marking your favorite hunting or fishing spot.
 
Fishing (4th & up) Try your fishing skills with a couple of casting activities before learning your fish, baiting your hook, and heading to the water.
 
Cross Country Skiing (4th & up) WINTER ONLY. Try a new winter activity that gets the heart rate up and the stress down as you view nature in a whole new way.
 
Iowa Prairie (4th & up) Look at our native prairie plants & their survival techniques while also learning about their historic edible and medicinal purposes.
 
A Country So Full of Game (6th & up) This program will portray the history of Iowa’s wildlife struggles & human impact from extirpation to recovery.
 
Native Americans & Bison (All ages) Using everyday items, a bison skin and bones, students will learn a little bit more about their size, how & where they lived, and their value to Native Americans.
 
Monarch Tagging (All ages) SEPTEMBER ONLY. Learn about a monarch’s life cycle, migration, and life style all while taking part in a citizen science project. Catch monarchs or just tag them. Researchers in Mexico report back the tag numbers that they find year.
 
Mammals of Iowa (All ages) Students will be introduced to the habitats, food sources, and adaptations of mammals found in Iowa. Activities include touching some of the skins and skulls of these animals as well as a predator/prey game.
 
Nature Games (All ages) Enjoy learning about basic nature concepts by playing actives games about predator/prey relationships, camouflage, migration, echolocation, and more!
 
Other popular topics
Bats Check out a couple of real bats that will not suck your blood or get stuck in your hair. Learn about what bats live in Iowa, how they live, and how much they eat.
 
Owls These silent flyers have awesome adaptations for hunting! Find out what owls live in Iowa, what sounds that they make, and see some up close.
 
Birds Take a look at bird beak adaptations, make suet for winter birds, use a pair of binoculars to look for birds, play a migration game, or listen to an owl in flight! The possibilities are endless.
 
Pollinators How does pollination work and why is it important? Invite them to your yard by learning what seeds to plant or by making a pollinator a home.
 
Nature Hikes Plan on visiting a natural area for this activity. Topics on a nature hike can vary widely from anything we see to plants, animal homes, habitat, birding, and more.  
 
Frogs Take in a thing or two about amphibians! This critter seems to be a childhood favorite with many. Play a frog game, talk about its life cycle, learn about a citizen science project, and more. If it’s May-July, we can head out to look for tadpoles.

Worms These slimy, squirmy critters are great for learning about decomposition, soil, and underground creatures. Perform wet/dry and light/dark experiments while learning a little anatomy.

To schedule a program, please contact the county naturalist.

Cherokee County Naturalist: Laura Jones
Phone #: 712-225-6709

Email: cccblaura@gmail.com