Kelloggsville students win a grant and give back to Hager Park!

2016 marks the third year fifth grade students from Kelloggsville Public Schools have visited Ottawa County's Hager Park to learn about and remove invasive plants, pick up litter, have lunch, and enjoy the Age of Discovery playground.

The trip to Hager Park is funded by a Kids to Parks Day grant, a nation-wide contest through the National Parks Trust. Nine fifth graders stepped up to write most of the grant and brainstorm the ideas for what their day would look like, as required by the grant.

“The students picked Hager Park three years ago after a parent suggestion and some research. After being awarded the grant again, upcoming classes made the decision to continue returning to Hager Park,” said fifth grade teacher, Maureen Bradley. “Even though the park is only a short distance away, only a third of the participating students had visited. We find after this program they bug their parents to return.”

Each year, about 150 fifth grade students travel to Hager Park by bus and start their day meeting with Melanie Manion, Ottawa County Parks’ Natural Resources Management Supervisor. They learn about the effect litter and invasive plants have on local ecosystems and compare the impact of the two.

This year, the students added a new component to the project. They felt it was important to help other Parks volunteers identify and understand the effect of invasive plants. They created informative posters for Ottawa County Parks to print and share with other volunteers.

“The best part of this grant is that students can see the difference they are making,” said Manion. Three years ago when the students were first awarded the grant and began this project, the area they are working on was 100% dead nettle. This year we found nodding trillium growing there. We were all so excited to see progress.”

It's also an opportunity to teach students about ecosystems while improving an ecosystem, which is the best way to learn about them! Yanexis Odelin reflected on her time spent at Hager Park:
I learned that invasive plants ruin and kill the native plants. If all the native plants disappear, then the bugs and insects don't eat. We can't let that happen. If there are no insects and bugs, then other animals, like birds, can't find food and they will starve. So today we pulled an invasive plant called dead nettle. We pulled as many as we could. It actually made a difference and that made me happy.

“The students are excited to learn about nature and to get out and do work,” said Bradly. “My excitement comes when students see that writing can lead to great things. Winning this grant and being at Hager Park is so motivating for our young biologists and future writers!”