Golden Sands RC&D (Wisconsin) held a successful virtual Conservation Field Day in the fall of 2020. The annual Waupaca County Conservation Field Day was held on Friday, September 25, 2020. About 300 5th grade students from Waupaca Middle School, Marion Elementary School, Manawa Elementary School, Christ Lutheran School, Chain O’ Lakes  Elementary School, Iola-Scandinavia Elementary School, and St. Rose St. Mary’s School attended the virtual educational event.

The virtual field day offered students four presentations, each highlighting a different conservation concept or career. The presentations offered a variety of topics including aquatic invasive species, fisheries management, foret fire safety and prevention, and agriculture. The students watched a prerecorded video of a conservation professional and had the opportunity to ask the professional questions during a live Q&A.

A benefit of the virtual format was that students were able to view content that isn’t normally provided during the in-person field day. Industry professionals incuded volunteers from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Golden Sands RC&D.

This was the 14th year of the field day hosted by Golden Sands; it was hosted by the Waupaca County Land and Water Conservation Department for 20 years prior to that. The virtual field day was sponsored by the Waupaca County LWCD, Friends of Hartman Creek State Park, Parfreyville United Methodist Church, Waupaca County Chater of Whitetails Unlimited, and the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region.

More information about Golden Sands RC&D can be found on their website.