Education

MUDFEST is an educational celebration where school children learn about soil and water – two of our most important natural resources! This early autumn event uses experts from Nebraska’s Natural Resources Districts and state and national agencies to educate children during six educational and entertaining sessions. The morning event culminates with the always popular Water Rockets demonstration. The children return to school with an increased awareness of natural resources, wide smiles, fun memories, and a little mud under their fingernails.  

Land judging contests provide high school students with the opportunity to gain a better understanding of soil structure and land evaluation in a competitive setting. The contests strengthen each participant’s ability to recognize the physical features of the soil, determine land capability for crop production, and evaluate management practices needed for proper stewardship. The land evaluation process provides a setting for students to investigate the soils in their region, the environment that surrounds them, and their effect on their daily lives.

Through land judging contests, students assimilate important information about the world they live in. Their understanding of the soil and its relationship to plants, water and air are improved. The students look at a number of factors in land judging – depth of soil, surface texture, permeability, slope, erosion, and organic matter. They also develop a knowledge of land treatment practices and where those practices can best be applied.

For more information, visit the NARD website.

Students in 9th through 12th grades are invited to participate in the Envirothon, a program designed to test their knowledge of the natural environment. Contest categories include subjects such as forestry, range, soils, wildlife, aquatics, current environmental issues, and one area of national interest.

Students compete in five-person teams at District Ag Contests held across the state. Students from the Lower Loup NRD compete in one of two District contests, either in Grand Island or Columbus. The winners of each of these regional contests are invited to compete at the Nebraska State Envirothon Contest. The eight teams scoring highest behind the winners at the regional contests are invited to compete at the state level as wildcards. The top team at the state competition is invited to represent Nebraska at the National Canon Envirothon Competition.

The Lower Loup Natural Resources District provides $100 for each team in the NRD qualifying for the State Envirothon to cover the contest registration fees.

For more information, visit the NARD website.

Adventure Camp about the Environment (ACE) is a four-day, three-night youth summer camp providing students with opportunities to dive into hands-on activities focused on natural resources. Sessions educate youth on Nebraska’s water resources, wildlife, soil, trees and other plants, range, grasslands, and more. ACE Camp gets students outdoors to explore the world around them.

Recreational activities at ACE Camp include fishing, collecting macroinvertebrates, close encounters with educational animals, campfires, swimming, and the famous Water Rockets activity. 

Students will complete camp with a better awareness of natural resources careers by learning from professionals who work in those fields every day.

ACE Camp takes place in June. After many years at the Nebraska State 4-H Camp near Halsey, ACE Camp is now held near Burwell at Kamp Kaleo.

Students from across Nebraska take part in ACE Camp the summer of the school year after completing sixth or seventh grade. 

Fees and registration are $235 per camper. The Lower Loup NRD offers camp scholarships for ACE Camp attendees who reside within the district. Youth living elsewhere in Nebraska may qualify for an ACE Camp scholarship from their local NRD. 

Watch this website for ACE Camp updates. Contact the Lower Loup NRD at (308) 728-3221.