At the water quality testing station, students got to test the pH balance, measure levels of phosphorous and measure turbidity. After that, students made a graph to show the difference between other lakes in the county. (Photo by Dani Molnar)

Kosciusko Lakes and Streams hosted four schools of fourth-graders today at Pike Lake for their biannual field day, “Our Lakes, Our Treasures.”

Student volunteers from Grace College taught fourth-graders from Jefferson, Harrison, Milford and Warsaw Christian Schools about the importance of protecting the lakes and streams in Kosciusko County.

“Anywhere they go, they’re going to run into a lake,” Paige Keim, fourth-grade teacher at Milford School, said. “It’s really important to have that mind set that ‘anything I do affects my environment.’”

The students got to get involved with five different stations around the lake which included fun activities such as a water conversation relay, watercolor painting to make waves, chemical tests on water quality and studying the concept of a watershed with a tarp and food coloring.

“Everybody lives in a watershed. No matter where you live, the water is going to up in a lake so we need to be mindful,” Dr. Nate Bosch, director of KLAS, said.

Despite the fact that in the nearly 4,000 students that have gone through the field day programs, only maybe five fish have been caught, fishing was still a crowd favorite.

“It’s amazing to me with all of the lakes we have out here how few kids have actually been out fishing. Hopefully it teaches them to be more conscious of what we put in (the water),” Bosch said.

KLAS has been working with the schools since 2008 to fit these events and programs like it into their curriculum.They offer aquariums to teach students about the ecosystems of the water, art contests and events like field day, which is offered twice per year.