Earth Day, a good book and a walk in the park
-- Photo by LYNNE HALEY Suzanne Engel (standing) of Kaniksu Land Trust guides Farmin Stidwell second-graders through a Story Walk. Children, left to right: Addie Jordan, Gabe Kirchengestren, Lucas Garrison, Anthony Blackford and Isaac Jordan, standing.
-- Photo by LYNNE HALEY Farmin Stidwell Elementary School students read a page of “If You Plant a Seed” on a Story Walk.
-- Photo by LYNNE HALEY Kaniksu Land Protection Specialist Regan Plumb speaks with Farmin Stidwell students about trees.
-- Photo by LYNNE HALEY Children race to the first station on the University of Idaho's Story Walk trail.
—Photo by LYNNE HALEY Gabe Kirchengestren, Lucas Garrison, Anthony Blackford and a schoolmate, left to right, read a story page with Suzanne Engel, standing, of Kaniksu Land Trust.
-- Photo by LYNNE HALEY Run, don't walk, on this Story Walk! Second grade boys from Farmin Stidwell Elementary, left to right: Lucas Garrison, Isaac Jordan, Gabe Kirchengestren and Anthony Blackford.
—Photo by LYNNE HALEY Anthony Blackford, second-grader at Farmin Stidwell Elementary School, center, talks about growing seeds.
SANDPOINT — Few simple pleasures compare to finding a shady spot beneath a tree and settling in to read a good book. Students from Farmin Stidwell Elementary School experienced that joy firsthand on Friday, courtesy of Kaniksu Land Trust and the East Bonner County Library District.
The setting was the University of Idaho property on North Boyer, and the occasion was the 46th annual Earth Day. The activity was Story Walk, a national program originated by Anne Ferguson of Vermont.
Friday's Story Walk guides, including Regan Plumb, Kaniksu's land protection specialist, and Suzanne Engel, the trust's community outreach director, led small groups of students through the story trail. A single illustrated page of the book "If You Plant a Seed" by Kadir Nelson awaited the young readers at each signpost.
Students took turns reading the pages, and their guide engaged them in discussions about gardening, nature and animals.
“Who likes tomatoes?” asked Engel at one station, but no one raised his hand.
“Who likes carrots?” she asked, and all the hands shot into the air.
Throughout the walk, the students were hopping, duck-walking, tiptoeing and skipping between signposts, according to the instructions on the previous sign.
“How does a bird walk?” Engel asked the group of second-grade boys midway through the story.
Each student had his own version, from waddling to flapping, and demonstrated along the way to the next page.
When they reached the end of the trail, everyone gathered in a circle on the dandelion-adorned lawn to decompress while KLT guides led a concluding discussion.
The University of Idaho Story Walk is one of four locations in the Sandpoint area open to the public throughout the weekend.
The Pend d'Oreille Bay Trail, the city of Dover, and McNearney Park in Ponderay each feature a different children's book on their Story Walk trails, according the EBCLD.
Information: ebonnerlibrary.org, kaniksulandtrust.org.