<br />tl'..... II<;
<br />
<br />000472
<br />Children's Programs Featured on Visitors' Day
<br />
<br />Tamara Kraus
<br />
<br />All too often, people who travel far across the
<br />county to visit The Land Institute are unable to get
<br />directions from Salinans on how to travel the last few
<br />miles. We do frequently joke about being "nationally
<br />known and locally unknown," and the humor is based
<br />on the blank stares Land staff and interns receive
<br />when they tell local people where they work.
<br />Each year in October the Land Institute hosts
<br />a Fall Visitors' Day. The program of talks, workshops
<br />and tours provides another excuse for people who are
<br />familiar with the Land to visit, take a walk on the
<br />native Wauhob prairie, and learn about the progress
<br />of the research. This year Visitors' Day was held on
<br />October 6th, from 12:30 to 4:30. While we explicitly
<br />invited all Friends of the Land, we made a special
<br />effort to encourage local people to attend.
<br />Organized by development assistant Beth
<br />Gibans, the 1990 open house was a collaborative
<br />event involving staff from the Lakewood Park Nature
<br />Center, Smoky Hill Museum, Saline County Exten-
<br />sion Service, as well as many Salina-area individuals.
<br />People contributed by assisting in both organizing
<br />and leading the programs. For several weeks before
<br />Visitors' Day, a planning committee comprised of
<br />Land Institute staff and interns and a number oflocal
<br />people met to discuss ideas for the program. The
<br />insights of people less involved with The Land Insti-
<br />tute proved to be extremely helpful. For example,
<br />John Wachholtz, a high school biology teacher in
<br />Salina, suggested that we have a panel discussion
<br />
<br />
<br />Beth GiOOns welcomes Visitors' Day participants.
<br />
<br />about what interns at the Land Institute do, what
<br />brings them here and what they do once they leave.
<br />To introduce The Land's work to the commu-
<br />nity, we offered tours of the grounds, research plots,
<br />and gardens throughout the day. Workshops in-
<br />cluded "Gardening in the Fall" led by Dana Jackson
<br />and Thorn Leonard, "Xeriscaping in Kansas" by Chip
<br />Miller, and for educators and youth leaders, "Using
<br />the Prairie as a Workshop" by Linda Caselman and
<br />John Wachholz. Berni Jilka presented our slide
<br />show, recently put together by Beth Gibans, and
<br />showed the videos "Uncertain Harvest" and "The
<br />Earth is the Lord's: Ecology as a Religious Concern"
<br />which feature the vision of The Land Institute.
<br />We put particular effort into developing an ex-
<br />tensive children's program. Near the classroom
<br />building, tables set up for the Discovery and Crafts
<br />area offered a wide array of interesting activities.
<br />Children examined snake skins, furs, sticks, leaves,
<br />bones and insects. They made leaf-imprinted book-
<br />marks, and used casts to make prints of animal
<br />tracks. The Salina High School Raptor Education
<br />Project displayed a number of stuffed raptors with
<br />information on their habits. Behind the classroom
<br />towards the Smoky Hill River, storyteller Aunt Carol
<br />(Carol Cole) exercised the imagination of both chil-
<br />dren and adults seated on a semicircle of hay bales.
<br />Julie Fisher, Annette White, Kris Schaefer, Holly
<br />Ewing, and Tamara Kraus presented three different
<br />hour-long workshops for the children: "Explore the
<br />Prairie," "Insects of the Prairie", and "Soil, It's not
<br />Just Dirt."
<br />In the Art Gallery visitors viewed an exclusive
<br />exhibit entitled 'Where We Find Ourselves: Images
<br />from the Landscape" by area artists Terry Evans,
<br />Mary Kay and Frank Shaw. Visitors' Day ended with
<br />refreshments and music in the big barn by Ruby
<br />Tilton, Kris Schaefer, and Beth Gibans.
<br />Over 250 people attended Fall Visitors' Day,
<br />the majority of whom had not previously visited. So,
<br />a little more knowledge of The Land Institute and, we
<br />hope, some of our vision has seeped into the commu.
<br />nity.
<br />
<br />~.
<br />
<br />~.
<br />
<br />i
<br />I.'
<br />
<br />'.
<br />
<br />(
<br />
<br />(-.
<br />~
<br />~
<br />~f;
<br />~..
<br />
<br />::.
<br />
<br />,;;
<br />
<br />"
<br />:?
<br />f:3
<br />~.
<br />
<br />"
<br />~
<br />/.
<br />t:
<br />~
<br />,
<br />~~<(
<br />(.
<br />~'
<br />
<br />:~
<br />
<br />\~
<br />
<br />.....
<br />,',
<br />:;
<br />u
<br />%
<br />'N
<br />~
<br />~~:
<br />?d
<br />:'t
<br />
<br />~
<br />i2
<br />";,.;
<br />;.J
<br />",'
<br />.).;
<br />
<br />,
<br />
<br />;-;.
<br />,
<br />
<br />;:.
<br />/
<br />
<br />"
<br />'.-..'
<br />
<br />Special thanks for their assistance to Cynthia
<br />Abbott, Steve Burr, Lisa Calloway, Linda Caselman,
<br />Carol Cole, Terry Evans, Joyce Fent, Nick Fent, Julie
<br />Fisher, Esther Frese, Karen Graves, Mary Kay, Ivy
<br />Marsh, Evelyn Maxwell, Chip Miller, Frank Shaw,
<br />Marge Streckfus, Ruby Tilton, Chuck VanGundy,
<br />Debbie Vignatelli, John Wachholz, Annette White.
<br />
<br />::..
<br />
<br />.',.
<br />.-
<br />
<br />?~
<br />
<br />~~,
<br />.~.-
<br />;...-;
<br />~
<br />
<br />.'.,.
<br />
<br />8
<br />
<br />:/
<br />
<br />'...
<br />
|