Linda Pettit told Emerson students about the Dust Bowl (also known as the “Dirty Thirties”), a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. Severe drought and a failure to apply dryland farming methods to prevent wind erosion, she said, caused the phenomenon.
Linda Pettit, an Environmental Education Specialist from the Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District, captivated students at Emerson Elementary School on September 18 with a presentation called The Sliding Soil. She brought a soil erosion simulator, which enabled the children to predict and compare the effects of rain falling on bare soil, mulched soil, and grass. Soil erosion, water quality and landscape alterations were discussed.
The Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District’s mission is to promote responsible land use decisions for the conservation, protection and improvement of soil and water resources by providing information assistance through effective partnering, technical guidance and education.