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What Teens Say...
Name: Ian Michel
Essay Theme: Conservation of Resources |
State: Iowa
School: Mid-Prairie Middle School |
Conserving Our World-Together
We Can Make A Difference |
Have you ever wondered about conservation and what it means?
Have you thought about your world and what you can do to protect
it? Both of these questions were meaningless to me because I
really didn't know what they were asking. I didn't know what
the word conservation meant and I didn't know what I could do
to help. But I decided to find out.
During this past year I enrolled in the wildlife conservation
project area through 4-H to learn what conservation was. I got
some books on conservation from our local Extension services
and I went to the Internet to see if I could find some answers
to my questions. I found a really cool website that had a quiz
so you could test yourself on conservation. I found out a lot
of things I didn't know, and I also found out that I knew more
than I thought I did. It was interesting because I also found
out there is a lot I can do to help protect habitats and our
natural resources.
I decided to share what I learned with lots and lots of people
by giving a presentation on the topic and by making a quiz board
that I displayed at the county fair this summer. It allowed
people to quiz themselves and learn more about the environment
and learn what they could do to help protect it. Some of the
things I learned and shared were about farming and irrigation,
about erosion, about composting, and about creating backyard
habitat.
I learned that contour farming is the best way to farm on a
hillside because it helps keep the soil from running off down
the hill during wet times. I also learned that drip irrigation
is the best way to water plants because it doesn't cause erosion
and it gives the plants just enough water to survive. I learned
that crop residue helps to protect the soil from running off
during the rains, and that is why farmers leave cornstalks in
the fields until the next planting season.
I learned that composting is a good way to help control garbage
and also a good way to get fertilizer. A container on the counter
can turn food scraps into fertilizer for house plants, or a
large compost pit in the yard can make yard waste into garden
fertilizer.
I also learned a lot about creating habitat. You can build butterfly
houses or birdhouses that can be put up in your yard. You can
create a backyard wetland to provide habitat, or you can leave
land in natural grasses to provide food or cover for wild animals.
In
conclusion, I learned what it means when someone asks how you
can help protect natural resources. My family already leaves
most of our acreage in natural grass, and we have planted many
trees to provide food and habitat. My brother and I also have
plans to make a wetland area in our yard. I learned that conservation
is not only helpful to our Earth but it can be a lot of fun.
If everyone did a little, our world would be a better place.
Together we can make a difference.
References:
| The Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation
Commission. 2002. Test your |
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conservation IQ. Homepage, <http:// www.mswcc.state.ms.us/iq.html> |
| National Wildlife Federation. 2002. Homepage,
<http://www.nwf.org/kids/> |
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Kids Page. (27 October 2002) |
| U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources
Conservation Service. |
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1999. Backyard conservation, Bringing conservation from
the countryside to your backyard. National Association
of Conservation Districts, Wildlife Habitat Council. |
This essay was part of a 2003 essay contest sponsored by
Council for Agricultural Science & Technology.
Click here to see how essays were
selected.
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