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Sac County Naturalist Is Recognized For Creative Educational To-Go Bags

Sac County Conservation’s new Naturalist, Kristen Bieret, is already winning awards. The Iowa Association of Naturalists (IAN) and the Iowa Conservation Education Coalition (ICEC) are proud to announce that Kristen Bieret has received their Award of Excellence in Environmental Education for Outstanding Interpretive Print Media. This annual award recognizes the contributions and advancement of environmental literacy in Iowa through print mediums and specifies Bieret’s recognition is for her grab and go Iowa activity kits. When Bieret joined Sac County Conservation, the pandemic was already here and she went right to work devising new ways to get and keep the area residents and visitors engulfed in natural pursuits. This included a series of activities, crafts and suggested readings she compiled into to-go bags that were made available free of charge. The effort started modestly, with 20 kits, but soon grew to more than 130 a month available at eight area libraries. By December of 2020, the naturalist and libraries had distributed more than 400 bags. The materials are also available as downloads online at the Sac County Conservation website. “In these trying times, we so greatly appreciate all the outside help we are getting, especially from our Naturalist, Kristen,” says Schaller Public Library Director, Brenda Naberhaus. “She has been making some grab and go bags for us to send home with our young patrons and they are LOVING IT! Moms and dads have been liking this option too, because they can do the activities with the children when they have time.”

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