What happens to soil when a fast-moving thunderstorm roars in and drops 2 inches of rain in an hour?

Some 200 Douglas County fourth-graders who went on a field trip Tuesday south of Lawrence can tell you: The soil gets washed away – unless it’s anchored by grass or covered by crop stubble.

Seeing live demonstrations on soil erosion and conservation, the students took part in the Fall Soil and Water Conservation field day sponsored by the Douglas County Conservation Board.

“It was pretty cool when the rain simulator thing went on,” said Celine Nguyen, 10, one of about 63 Quail Run School students attending the field day.

Students from two Lawrence schools – Quail Run and Pinckney – joined students from schools in Baldwin and Marion Springs for the field trip to Mike and Cheryl Flory’s farm six miles south of Lawrence on U.S. Highway 59.

There were eight demonstration stations, showing pollution effects in a watershed, conservation practices and information on wildlife, grasses and soils.

“It’s lot of fun. I’m learning lots of different things,” said Jake Landgrebe, a Quail Run fourth-grader. “I’m learning about soil conservation and about how water is important.”

Jake said he was most impressed by the animal pelts.

“We saw a raccoon’s skin. We saw a possum. We saw a bobcat and a coyote. And we saw the wings of a hawk and an owl,” he said.

Ashley Dunn, another Quail Run fourth-grader, said she had been on a farm before – her grandparents own 200 acres. But she got a better understanding Tuesday of conservation methods they use.

“I learned some of the soil stuff, like the pipe thing that showed how fast the water can go,” she said, referring to the rain simulator.

Charles Fawl, board chair of the conservation district, said this is the sixth year for the conservation demonstrations.

“We’re just trying to show them what agriculture is all about,” Fawl said. “It’s kind of a fun thing for them.”

Fawl said teachers build the field trip to the farm into their science curriculum.

“They get a lot out of it,” said Alea Lafond, a fourth-grade teacher at Quail Run.

The students will remember what they learned on the farm when they discuss the same topics in the classroom, she said.

“It’s much better than pictures in a book,” she said. “It’s amazing how many children have never been on a farm.”

Another Quail Run teacher, Linda Williams, said her fourth-graders are now studying plants and animals in the ecosystem.

“A lot of the information they are getting here we will be talking about in the next six weeks in our science program,” Williams said.

She said several questions that will come up on the state science assessments were taught during Tuesday’s field trip.

The Florys, hosts of the event, said they enjoyed bringing the students out to their farm each year.

Mike Flory said they put on the program once a year on a first-come, first-serve basis for the fourth-grade teachers in the county who respond.

“Our only regret is that we can’t have every fourth-grader from Douglas County here,” he said.