That's the purpose of the Young Naturalist Series taught by Lisa Green taking place at Blandy Experimental Farm. In the introductory session, elementary school students learn about how limestone and caves make up the landscape of Clarke, and how protecting the environment with simple moves such as recycling and conserving water can save the land.

"That's actually an ant farm," one student said as Green pulled out a plastic, three dimensional diagram to show what Clarke County looks like underground. While pumping water into the tubes and pockets within the showcase, Green described to the children what the Shenandoah Valley used to look like years ago.

She told them of the various animals and fish living in the freshwater that once ran through. Over the years the water evaporated into the atmosphere leaving layers of bones and shells that form calcium build-up. The result is the limestone rock very prominent here.

The 15 children each had the opportunity to experiment with a piece of limestone rock, which was collected from around the Blandy property. First scratching the surface with nails and then pouring on vinegar to see calcium bubbles form.

Green explained that as it rains, the limestone rock dissolves, creating holes and caves in the soil. These holes are what are found on some properties as sink holes or shallow ponds. This is known as karst, a special type of landscape that forms after the dissolution of limestone rock.

According to the Karst Waters Institute, 40 percent of the drinking groundwater in the United States comes from karst aquifers. KWI also points out that common characteristics of Karst regions are unpredictable water supply, sinkhole collapse and groundwater contamination.

Green dumped colored water through the tubes running through the diagram to show what happens when pollution occurs in a karst region. Pollution in sink holes penetrates the ground, which then contaminates private wells.

"What happens when someone dumps oil from their car into a sinkhole?" Green asked. "Someone else ends up drinking it out of their tap."

The children explored a sinkhole on the property, where Green and other volunteers were available if they had any questions. "They get to spend a good bit of their time outside here to discover and figure things out. It's an opportunity to go outside at winter and realize that it's not all dormant."

Green had made a makeshift indoor cave with which the children could discover different aspects. The cave was made out of black plastic, blown up by a fan she kept running at one end. Stalactites and stalagmites were shooting up and down made out of brown construction paper.

Later, the children acted out being cave critters: Cavefish, caveshrimp, crickets, crayfish and woodrat, collecting "food" Green and other volunteers had put down. "Environmental factors" such as drought or human disturbance took away what they could eat.

Green said the themes were meant to teach children about what's going on in the region they live in. "No rainforests or jungles. They learn about their own backyard before they take on bigger things," she said.

The series started last Saturday and will run through March 15. Other session topics include evergreen trees, the night sky, birds of prey and signs of spring. There is a morning session for first and second graders and the afternoon session is for grades third-fifth.

The series switches subjects every two weeks with each topic visited for two weekends. This is the third year of the series, which has been ever increasing in popularity.

"Last year we had to turn kids away," said Steve Carroll. Fortunately, Adams Co. provided financial support to double the amount of sessions to allow for more participants.

Contact hhager@timespapers.com for more information.