COALTON — Children always like to get their hands dirty, and Danny Blevins is happy to oblige.
He has two tubs half-full of rich, dark brown potting soil and several flats of purple impatiens in front of him. Waiting eagerly are half a dozen children, waiting to plunge their fingers into the dirt and pot the plants.
Blevins loves watching them snuggle their plants into pots of the soil. He knows the moment they touch the fertile dirt, the living green shoots and the lacy white roots, they’ll make a connection.
The children may not fully realize it, but they’re learning how the plant, the soil, the environment and themselves are bound in an interconnected web.
Once they’ve learned that, they’re closer to becoming good stewards of the earth and its resources, he said.
That is why Blevins, a retired agriculture teacher — and now full-time farmer — spent Wednesday at the Boyd County Fairgrounds helping the county extension service with its annual 4-H Farm Day. About 120 students from the Fairview school district descended on the fairgrounds to get a taste of farm life.
Besides planting flowers, they sheered sheep, saw some horses, grimaced at some bugs and learned some exercises.
“We hope to bring some awareness that there is more than TV and video games to do in the summer,” said 4-H extension agent Becky Stahler.
And maybe some of the children will develop an interest in animals, join 4-H and take on a livestock project some future summer, she said.
That could happen. A lamb, it turns out, enjoys eating clover buds just about as much as children like picking the buds and feeding them to the lamb.
Feeding the lamb was their reward for helping fair board member John McGlone shear it.
“It was really great. She tried to get all of my flowers,” said Rachel Meeks, who will be in second grade in the fall.
Rachel and her classmates each got a turn with the electric shears, and they filled two plastic bags with the wool they clipped off.
Some of the children had never seen farm animals; Stahler hopes the exposure will instill a respect for animals and for the responsibility farmers have to care for them.
The children also learned about recycling and composting. An entomologist showed them some insects and an exercise instructor showed them Zumba moves.
It was a day to recreate, in microcosm, an increasingly rare agrarian lifestyle.
“I grew up on a farm so I saw the importance of nature,” Blevins said. “We want them to realize the value of agricultural resources.”
The message apparently got across. “If we don’t take care of plants each day, they’ll die. And then no more food,” said Isaac Campbell, who will be in fourth grade in the fall.
Same goes for humanity, explained rising sixth-grader Katie Richard. “We got to plant a plant and make it live and make it part of the earth. People need to take care of people, too.”
MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2652.
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