June Messa releases a banded wood duck back into the marsh during the Day on the Wildside event at Winous Point on July 30. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

BY SHERI TRUSTY

PORT CLINTON – Thanks to the Ottawa Soil & Water Conservation District, sixty kids in fifth through eighth grades enjoyed a “Day on the Wildside” at Winous Point Marsh Conservancy in Port Clinton on July 30. The youths enjoyed several different outdoor activities at the annual event. Some caught their first fish, some took their first ride in a punt boat, and some shot a bow for the very first time.

The kids experienced fishing, bird banding, archery, and marksmanship. They took punt boat rides into the marsh where they learned about plants that thrive in the wet environment, took part in a banded bird release, experienced seine fishing, and raced through the marsh in water that was waist high.

Payzlie Dinan poses with the catfish she caught at Winous Point on July 30. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

OSU Graduate Research Associate Timothy Maron taught the Wildside participants about bird banding and bird disease testing and allowed the kids to pet a wood duck that was banded and then released back into the wild. Maron explained that some birds are swabbed to test for high path avian influenza, and the students observed as blood draws were taken from songbirds to test for West Nile Virus.

Before taking the kids into the marsh on punt boats, Ottawa Soil & Water Conservation District Wildlife Specialist, Joe Uhinck, talked to them about Winous Point and the benefits of a marsh.

The Day on the Wildside event hosted by Ottawa Soil & Water Conservation gave kids the chance to take punt boat rides into the marsh. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

“Winous Point is the oldest continuously running duck hunting club in North America,” he said. “Marshes are kind of nature’s kidneys. They filter toxins out of the water. When we get out there, we will pull a seine and see what kinds of fish we have in the water.”

Division of Wildlife Wetland Habitat Coordinator, Dave Sherman, talked to the kids about marsh plant life and allowed them to release some of the birds that were banded earlier.

Division of Wildlife Wetland Habitat Coordinator, Dave Sherman, left, talks to the kids about wood duck identification. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

“We’re teaching the kids about wetland ecology and wildlife habitats,” Sherman said.

Mostly, they were teaching kids that it is really fun to be outdoors.

“The biggest thing is just getting kids out in nature,” said Ottawa Soil & Water Conservation District Program Administrator Mike Libben. “Ottawa County is rich in natural resources. We want to let them experience outdoors and unplug for the day.”