The Marshall County Conservation Board hosted one of its bimonthly Nature Story Hour events for June at the Grimes Farm and Conservation Center on Thursday morning. Area children and parents gathered outside for a read-aloud with special guest Sue Cahill, a state representative, former MCSD kindergarten teacher and former member of the Marshalltown City Council.

Cahill’s presence reignited her passion as a former educator, bringing back memories of past visits to Grimes Farm with her kindergarten students.

“I have always enjoyed Grimes Farm,” said Cahill. “They were always so intrigued by all of the items and activities inside, hiking in a safe place, taxidermied animals, and many learning opportunities.”

Cahill had no reservations when asked to read for the event because “this is such a treasure.”

“Read alouds [are] always one of my favorite things. I’ve been a kindergarten teacher for about 12 years, and then a teacher librarian for another six [years]. So sharing books with kids and trying to engage them to be a part of it is so fun,” she said. “I compliment the parents for bringing them out. Beautiful day!”

In keeping with the day’s theme of endangered species, Cahill read the children’s book Mother Earth’s Lullaby: A Song for Endangered Animals by Terry Pierce. To further educate the children on the subject, Marshalltown County Conservation Naturalist Emily Herring showed photos of endangered species, allowing children to identify various animals and learn about new species including their endangered status.

For a more tangible approach to learning, a game much like musical chairs was played involving the children standing on small carpet squares representing habitats and running around trying to find empty spots as the squares were periodically reduced. The game candidly demonstrated the seriousness of habitat reduction and urgency for environmental awareness.

“Even as adults, I think we step back and we think that habitat loss is something that’s out of our control or something that we really can’t help with an endangered species,” Herring said.

As most of the endangered species people hear or read about are typically from other parts of the world, Herring forewarns of the misconceptions and urges environmental consciousness that can be taught to children through events like Nature Story Hour.

“The fact is we have endangered species here in Iowa as well, and there are things, simple things, that we can do to help. And so letting kids know that their actions have an effect on the things that are going on around them is important, and it kind of just starts the process of making them more aware of their surroundings,” said Herring.

The Nature Story Hour events take place on the first and third Thursdays of every month, and Herring is working to adapt the program to get more people involved and looking forward to the keynote guests and variety of fun-filled plans for this summer.

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Contact Andrew Ubben at 641-753-6611 or

aubben@timesrepublican.com.