Mahaska Youth Given A Chance To Explore Outdoor Activities

Oskaloosa Police Officer Austin Ridgers and ‘Duke’ give a demonstration at Youth Outdoor Field Day.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The youth of Mahaska County had an opportunity to explore the outdoors, and many of the activities that make up the experience of enjoying the recreation it provides.

The yearly Youth Outdoor Field Day event is hosted by the Mahaska County Conservation and is now in its sixteenth year of introducing young, and now older, people to things like tree identification, bow fishing, mammal research, and much more.

The yearly event is hosted at the Russell Wildlife Center, which used to be the location for the Mahaska County Conservation offices until the new Environmental Learning Center recently opened.

“It’s been a tremendous success,” said Friends of Mahaska County Conservation Board Member Linda Fox.

“Anybody’s welcome to come to it,” added Fox. “It’s a family-oriented event. We want families to go from one station to another on their own. They can spend as much time at each station as they like.”

“It’s something that adults, parents, and grandparents can share with the kids,” added Fox.

Lunch was prepared for the 280 people that preregistered for the event. Those that registered the day of the event weren’t as lucky on getting lunch.

Mahaska County Naturalist Laura DeCook spoke with Oskaloosa News about what is undoubtedly the biggest day for Mahaska County Conservation all year.

“The one great thing about this event is that organizations and businesses in the community pool together on one day to create an outdoor experience for families,” added DeCook.

Close to 60 volunteers help make the day possible.

“The volunteers seem to really enjoy what they are teaching, and visiting with people and seeing the kids all excited,” DeCook said of the volunteers and their efforts.

“If anybody in the future wants to join our event, they can contact us,” added DeCook. “If they have an activity they would like to share with the public, there is always room for this [event] to grow.”

Zach Cox was at the outdoor event for the first time on Saturday. He brought two kids with him to the event. The kids were looking forward to turkey hunting, bow fishing, archery, and fishing.

Cox said that they had tried bow fishing before, and bow fishing is different because the water makes the target look to be in a different place, and the boat is bobbing up and down.

Young Mara Bowen was experiencing the Youth Outdoor Field Day on Saturday. “I want to go fishing,” said Bowen of her opportunity to bow fish.

Bowen stopped for a quick photo with us before heading off to try her luck.

You can find out more by visiting Mahaska County Conservation on their website or Facebook pages.