Students experience outdoor activities at O.K. Kids Day

From fishing to first aid, students from R.V. Haderlein Elementary got a taste of the full gamut of outdoor activities Thursday during the annual O.K. Kids Day at Crawford State Park.
Students in third through fifth grades spend a portion of the day at the lake every year. It's an event Dan Duling, principal at Haderlein, and Dave Goble, park manager at the state park, started several years ago while Duling was principal at Lakeside Elementary in Pittsburg.
“We used to call it Junior Naturalist Days,” Goble said.
“It's a program that encourages kids to get outdoors and play. That's the whole goal behind it.”
The program has grown into a partnership between USD 248 in Girard, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and the Kansas Wildscape Foundation. It's come a long way since those early days, Duling said.
“It's gotten better,” he said.
“We want them to get outside and get a bit of fresh air. In this day and age of computers and the Internet, being indoors and not being as active, we want to encourage that.”
Fourth-grader Hannah Bliss, 10, enjoyed trying her hand at fishing. The fishing station was her first stop of the day Thursday, she said. But she remembered taking part in the different stations last year.
“It's just fun,” she said. “There's a lot to do.”
Helping Hannah and her classmates was Bob Harris of Girard. Working with the young people and helping out with O.K. Kids Day is something he does every year.
“It's the enjoyment of watching the kids fish and having a good time,” Harris said. “I teach them how to be careful with the fishing poles and stuff, so they enjoy themselves.
“This is for the kids and they need to have a good time. It seems like they all do.”
While Hanna and her friends were fishing, other students were learning about boating safety from Jim Bussone, a game warden and certified boater safety instructor with KDWP for Bourbon and Crawford counties. Just up the road, Girard Medical Center staff were teaching basic first aid and how to stay safe and healthy during outdoor activities.
In another part of the park, Karen Duling and Mary Ann Duling — Dan Duling's sister and mother, respectively — presented a cultural activity that included singing with a little bit of history thrown in for good measure.
On the other side of the park, students got to tour the Farlington State Fish Hatchery, where staff introduced them to live game fish caught specially for the day. The kids also got to tour the hatchery and see how fish are raised and readied to be released into public waters across the state.
“There's kind of a broad spectrum of activities,” Goble said.
Dozens of volunteers donate their time to make the day a success, Goble added. They come from all over, from KDSP personnel both local and from other districts to average people from around the area that want to help out.
The day has another benefit, beyond getting the children out of the classroom and enjoying themselves. It also gives them an introduction to a local resource they may not have taken advantage of before.
“You'd be surprised at the number of students who maybe haven't ever experienced Crawford State Park,” Duling said.
“They don't know we have this little jewel just north of town eight miles. It can give them an opportunity to get outside and be with their families and spend some quality time.”