We had a great time at our annual Ag Day last week! We had fourth-graders from Dade Elementary and Davis Elementary. Davis brought its pre-K, kindergarten, first and third grades also. We had several classes walk down from Dade Middle School as well. Overall, there were approximately 400 students who came through the Ag Center at some time during the morning.
Our exhibitors had some very interesting displays. Deb Tucker, the new naturalist at Cloudland Canyon, had an assortment of hides and plants for students to see and touch. Tri-State Beekeepers brought a cutaway beehive so students could observe bees in action.
The students are always fascinated by Cheri Miller’s spinning wheel demonstration and the water flow model from NRCS. Local artist Amanda Brazier
gave students the opportunity to grind different soils into paint pigment, and Tree City gave out pin oak seedlings.
The kids all enjoyed the animals brought by Carla Dyer, Jeremy Dyer and Fancher Nakhleh. There were ducks, a turkey, goats, a lamb, roosters, rabbits, quail, a horse and a donkey. Clover the 4-H Cow patiently allowed everyone to “milk” her. Our outside displays included blacksmithing by Charles Henderson,
Rob Smith and helpers. John Case brought his tractor and hay baler. Our local Georgia Forestry personnel talked about fire breaks and brought a fire break plow. Daniel Jones arrived w th a fire truck, which is always popular with the kids. Our Farm Bureau friends, Connie and Gardner Blevins, greeted everyone with goody bags.
Two of our exhibits were run by students! Ivy Nakhleh led the Seed Board game, where students got to match seeds with the vegetables they turn into. The “Where Does It Grow?” game was led by FFA students from the high school. They all did an excellent job of engaging the younger students, while educating them at the same time!
We could not have had a successful Ag Day without the help and hard work of our Junior Teen Leaders. They made sure that all the exhibitors were well hydrated and all the animals had food, water and appropriate attention. They helped the exhibitors load and unload and greeted classes as they came in.
Thank you, parents, for lending them to us!
