School Days teaches kids about nature

Area grade-school pupils learned about wild animals and cultural history.
By AMANDA GARRETT
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
LAKE MILTON -- A chorus of "oohs" and "aahs" came from a group of elementary school pupils as potter Mary E. Bobersky formed a shapeless lump of clay into a jar.
As Bobersky spun the potter's wheel faster and faster the children peppered her with questions about how she makes her pottery and where her clay comes from.
Bobersky's presentation was part of the 12th Annual Lake Milton State Park School Days held Wednesday at the park's Beach on Lake Milton.
School Days, which is sponsored by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, teaches pupils from third through fifth grades about wild animals, water safety, ecological principles and Ohio's cultural history.
The pupils and teachers, who rotated around the beach to view and listen to the various displays, were from several area schools districts including LaBrae, Lordstown and Newton Falls.
Bobersky, who has volunteered at School Days every year, said she enjoys teaching the children.
Using imagination
"Demonstrating pottery-making shows them they can use their imagination," she said. "They learn they don't have to go to Wal-Mart or Kmart to buy everything. They can use their hands and their creativity instead."
Near Bobersky's stand, Boy Scout instructor and self-described "mountain man" Murle McLaughlin demonstrated Winnebago Indian rope-making techniques.
Newton Falls fourth-grader Jake Ballas said he was having a good time at School Days.
"I enjoyed the fishing the most," he said. "Although I didn't catch anything. I just got a few nibbles."
Ballas' classmate Kyle Storm said he was looking forward to seeing the wildlife displays.
"I want to see the canines," he said. "But I really want to see the snake."
A little while later Kyle and his classmates learned about Bob, a 3 1/2-foot long royal python, from his owner, Amber Dean.
Bob eats about once a month in the winter and every two weeks in the summer, said Amber, who is a Lake Milton volunteer and sixth-grader at Stanton Middle School in Kent.
"He's on an all-rat diet," added Katie Dean, Amber's mother and a Lake Milton naturalist. "Because rats are cheap and he likes them."
What else they learned
Other displays included dog care and safety training from Animal Charity, water safety taught by Ohio Watercraft officers and a display with several birds of prey native to Ohio.
Portage Lakes Naturalist Amber Kaufmann taught pupils about Ohio's wild mammals by using the pelts of beavers, foxes, minks and coyotes
School Days is important because it teaches children about nature, Kaufmann said.
"I enjoy being outside and being able to teach the children about the environment," she said. "Because it's with them the future of the environment rests."
agarrett@vindy.com