Ken Keffer

2017 at CEDAR HOLLOW SCHOOL, Grand Island, NE USA

KEN GIVES KIDS A CHOICE AT CEDAR HOLLOW

I celebrated Authors for Earth Day on the greenest day of the year…Saint Patrick's Day! Students at Cedar Hollow School in Nebraska were an enthusiastic bunch, and I had such a great time.

I timed my visit to central Nebraska so that I could experience one of nature's greatest migrations. Over 500,00 Sandhill Cranes pass through a 60-mile stretch of the Platte River each spring, and it is truly an incredible sight to behold. Students showed great pride knowing that people travel from all over the planet to experience something that is ubiquitous to them every March.

For the younger students I read a short introduction to the spring section of The Kids' Outdoor Adventure Book. All of the students learned about animal adaptations. I especially enjoyed comparing White-tailed Deer and Mule Deer antlers as well as contrasting antlers and horns.

Together we learned about some of Nebraska's National Park Service Sites including the Niobrara National Scenic River and Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. We also discussed our nation's first national park, Yellowstone.

Our conservation lesson took on a global scale when I shared stories about working on wild Bactrian Camels in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia.

The middle school students were especially intrigued about the black bear hibernation research I helped out with when attending the University of Wyoming. Mr. Schaefer teaches middle school science for Cedar Hollow, and I've known him since 6th grade. We were roommates in college, and his students got a real kick out of the thought of that.

Thanks to all of the teachers, and to Principal Mazour, for being supportive of Authors for Earth Day 2017. Also a very special thanks to the Cedar Hollow PTO for making our A4ED donations possible: $100 each to the Crane Trust, Camp Augustine, and to student's choice winner Idea Wild.