INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — For decades, the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has used its mascot, Sammy Soil, to help teach school children about the importance of protecting the environment, including water and soil.

The Sammy Soil mascot – whether as a person in costume or a cartoon drawing – has been a part of NRCS educational events and materials nationwide since he was introduced more than 40 years ago.

“Kids can relate to mascots, and we wanted that when teaching about soil and water,” said Jane Hardisty, Indiana’s state conservationist for NRCS. “Normally as an agency we’re working mostly with adults, but somehow we’ve got to relate to young folks the treasures we have in our soil and water. We don’t want them to take that for granted.”

Sammy Soil was the brainchild of a Tennessee NRCS conservationist who initially created a water color version of the mascot. The character was officially launched in 1967 and was used by NRCS in a series of school activity books.

“We’re always looking for a hook, and Sammy was one of the things we used as a hook,” said Gary R. Struben, NRCS Indiana state soil scientist. “(The kids) have an interest, but you just have to spark it. That’s why we used Sammy Soil – to spark that interest.”

The Sammy Soil mascot doesn’t have one specific look, said Rebecca Fletcher, NRCS state public affairs specialist. At the moment Indiana doesn’t have a mascot costume, but some organizations or agencies have created their own, she added.

While the mascot is used to varying degrees, its message is front and center with agencies such as NRCS and county Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD).

“There are more school kids who don’t understand about soil than who do,” Hardisty noted. “We talk (in educational sessions) about all the things that come from the soil such as the trees that grow and are used to build your house. If they don’t understand, we’re not going to have it for later generations. No one is ever too young or too old to learn about soil.”

The NRCS has a variety of educational materials for students of all ages and lesson plans for teachers who might want to incorporate the information into their classrooms, Fletcher said. FFA advisers and 4-H youth educators also have access to the material.

Coloring books, activity books on watersheds, pollinators and wildlife, and posters, are available, she said. To view examples of educational materials, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov, click on “soils” under popular topics on the right side of the page, and then “soil education” under popular topics on the soils page.

Struben has worked for NRCS and its predecessor, the Soil Conservation Service, for 39 years. The level of understanding children have today about soil is a little bit less than it was in the past, he noted.

“The background isn’t there as much,” he said. “Farm kids grew up with their hands in the soil, so they probably absorbed some information by osmosis just by being around it. Eventually it does soak in for most kids but they may not appreciate it until they’re a bit older.”

Educational offerings from Struben and his colleagues are constantly evolving, he said. For a particular field day, students might hear presentations on building a soil profile, the differences in soil texture and overall soil health.

“We’re not trying to make soil scientists out of them,” Struben stated. “We want them to get their hands dirty. Some are a little squeamish and others just dive right in.”

The amount and type of information Darci Zolman, program administrator with the Kosciusko County, Ind., SWCD, shares with children depends on their ages.

For smaller children, Zolman said she focuses on the basics, asking them why soils are important to them. She also tries to show them how their food may be traced back to soils.

“We’re trying to make a personal connection to the kids,” she said. “We have an activity where the kids play different particle sizes. For sandy soil, they stand far apart, but for clay soil, they’re standing shoulder to shoulder. We then have another student playing water to show how water moves through the soils.”

Older students may participate in programs such as Envirothon, a team competition for those in high school. The students answer questions and try to solve potential problems in five subject areas – soils/land use, aquatics, forestry, wildlife and a current environmental issue, said Zolman, president of the Indiana Envirothon. Teams that do well could eventually advance to the state or North American level, which includes teams from Canada.

It’s important that agencies trying to teach children of any age keep up with how they prefer to learn, Hardisty noted.

“Every generation has a whole different level of learning skills and we’re hoping to do more education every year,” she said. “The message is getting out there. But today, more is being done with the computer. Software is being developed. We have to adapt to different learning levels.”