By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER
Ohio Correspondent

HAMILTON, Ohio — The Butler Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) has received a $50,000 Ohio EPA environmental education grant to develop The Greatest Show In Earth, a soil tunnel and lab which will visit area schools. The Butler Rural Electric Company has also contributed a $5,000 grant towards the project.

The Greatest Show In Earth will provide a three-dimensional, mole’s-eye-view of the world that lets visitors feel as if they are underground. A trailer housing a soil tunnel and lab will carry a museum-quality interactive exhibit to schools, fairs and other events in several southwest Ohio counties. Topics covered include soil formation and composition; the role of soil in food production, water purification and habitat; and the importance of soil and water conservation.

“The purpose of this trailer is to open people’s eyes to the world that’s beneath their feet,” said Lynn White, Education Specialist with Butler SWCD. “People say, ‘oh, that’s just dirt down there.’
“There are so many things we’re hoping the trailer will help show people,” she said. “The way the plants are growing through the soil, the crops and flowers and trees, the kind of wildlife that’s down there, interactions with water and soil, past life, things like fossils.”

“I already go out and do programs; you can show pretty pictures and describe the world beneath your feet,” White said. “If all you can do is see something, you don’t get the same educational experience. You can’t just go out and dig a hole in the school grounds. This will be a good way to let the kids see the different colors and textures of the soil, as well as the life that is in there.”
White and Butler SWCD District Administrator Kevin Fall got the idea for the trailer after renting a soil tunnel from Michigan last year. People enjoyed the tunnel but it was small.

That gave them the idea not to have something that had to be rolled up and fit in a trailer, but to make it from a trailer. They also knew what type of artwork they wanted for the trailer, but were not certain how to accomplish that.

White had educational contacts at the Cincinnati Museum Center. They were delighted with the creative challenge of the project.
“They’re looking at what you might hear, what’s beneath the ground, the typical worms, moles and rabbits,” White said. “They’d like to include something about the 17 year cicadas.”

Being a governmental agency, Butler SWCD is proud that the money did not come out of the budget; just the time of staff people.

“When people see this they’re going to know it was expensive and we want them to know that it had nothing to do with their tax dollars,” Fall said. “It was the office seeking those educational grants. The trailer will make it more interesting to learn about these things.”

“Also, we don’t want this to be kept in Butler County,” he said. “We want it to be used. There’s a lot of interest. It’s got people excited.”

Collaborators include the Butler County Storm Water District, Cincinnati Museum Center, Hamilton-to-New-Baltimore Groundwater Consortium, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Niederman Family Farm.

For additional information on programs and services Butler Soil and Water Conservation District provides, contact the office at 513-887-3720, e-mail to butlerswcd@butlercountyohio. org, or check out www.butlerswcd.org