ANSONVILLE — Students from all over the county visited Pee Dee Wildlife Refuge this month in a series of environmental education classes.
Refuge manager J.D. Bricken said all second- and third-graders in the county attend the classes at the refuge held the weeks of April 3 and April 10.
Third-graders from Morven Elementary went to the refuge on April 14. There, they were split into groups and rotated classes. They learned about soil from Amy Colf, an assistant horticulture and forestry agent with the Anson County Cooperative Extension office.
Greg Walmsley, the assistant manager of the refuge, taught the children about aquatics, while Janet Gilreath, the refuge’s administrative support specialist, taught on birds of prey.
The children learned how to examine their surroundings and to look deeper into their environment. Gilreath had the children examining owl pellets — the regurgitated, indigestible remains of whatever the owl had for dinner — to identify what the owl’s last meal had been.
The children picked out pieces of fur, tiny skulls, claws and bits of bones to identify the creatures, pulling out the pieces and comparing them to a chart Gilreath provided for them to use as a reference.
Gilreath also displayed the talons of some birds of prey, including hawks and owls, showed them a stuffed owl and taught them about how the birds hunt for their food, using their sharp talons to break their prey’s back.
Walmsley’s microscope showed the children the tiny life in pond water samples. Later, he waded in the pond with a net to bring back samples of insects, minnows, plants and other specimens from the pond for the children to look over.
Pee Dee Wildlife Refuge hosts the classes for the children each year. According to its website, the refuge has 8,500 acres and a mix of ponds, old fields, wetlands, hardwood forests and more.
The refuge is open to the public and is located at 5770 U.S. 52 North, Wadesboro. For more information, call the refuge at 704-694-4424.
Reach reporter Imari Scarbrough at 704-994-5471 and follow her on Twitter @ImariScarbrough.
