Fifth grade youth gather around a DEC officer to learn about the career of being a forest ranger.

Cornell Cooperative Extension Chautauqua County’s 4-H Program celebrated the 59th anniversary of the Conservation Field Days Field Trip for Chautauqua County fifth graders recently.

Despite less than favorable weather, Chautauqua County 4-H hosted 150 students the first day and 323 students on the second day for a total of 473 students.

“Conservation Field Days is always a rewarding event,” said Emily Reynolds, Cornell Cooperative Extension Chautauqua County executive director. “Watching youth engage with nature, explore diverse conservation topics, and learn through hands-on opportunities is both inspiring and impactful.”

The youth in attendance spend 20 minutes at a station with an expert in the conservation field before rotating to another station to learn about a different topic. Youth visit four stations before breaking for lunch and three stations after lunch, so not every student saw all 15 stations on Wednesday or all 26 stations Thursday.

“Schools with larger classes are divided up into groups that are staggered so that students from the school see as many stations as possible,” said Lynne Wahlstrom, 4-H educator. “We hope the youth are excited to share what they learned at the stations they participated in with others from their school to exponentially increase the reach of the presenters.”

Topics from 2025 included fly fishing, the water cycle, green power, the Rails to Trails system, beekeeping, protecting our watershed, forestry, maple syrup production, sustainable farming, Chautauqua Lake, streambank erosion, Eastern Bluebirds, brook trout, boating safety, fire safety, nutrition, grape growing, and the job of a forest ranger.

Community partners who sent instructors to the event included the state Department of Public Service, Chautauqua Lake Association, Rails to Trails, Chautauqua County Health Department, Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardener Program, SAREP Fly Fishing, Lucile M. Wright Air Museum, Allegany State Park, Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Randolph Fish Hatchery, New York Maple Syrup Experience, Country Kids on the Fly, Cornell Cooperative Extension Nutrition Education, Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, NYSDEC Forest Rangers, Jamestown Fire Department, Chautauqua County Beekeepers Association, and the Concord Grape Belt Heritage Association/Grape Discovery Center.

Local businesses also sent instructors, including Miller Farms Maple Syrup, Alpacaville Farm, Sunshine Honey and Stoll Family Farm. Peterson Farm, a local business, provided a discount on beef needed to feed instructors lunch for both days.

Conservation Field Days was created by 4-H agent Jim Gould in 1966 to get youth learning outside the classroom. The program was first held at the Sack Farm in Ellery and in 1990 moved to Long-Point State Park. Conservation Field Days have been held at the Lake Chautauqua Lutheran Center since 2010.