Attendees at Southeast Linn Community Center’s garden class Wednesday, June 26, learned about the importance of balance in ecosystems.
Jessica Wiskus with Linn County Master Gardeners presented on the ecosystem of prairies and woodlands, and how the foods found in ecosystems tie together.
As part of the activity, students recorded a short play talking about the differences between life found in the prairie like plants and animals such as rabbits, hawks, coyotes.
Attendees decorated a mask for the characters they portrayed in the play, and then got experience on how to read a script before taking the stage at the front of the community center to perform their play.
“Prairies offer food and shelter to smaller mammals like rabbits because the grass blocks large predators like hawks. Coyotes are another predator of small mammals but help keep the prairie ecosystem in check.”
Plants, which grow by photosynthesis, help provide nutrients to animals and continue to grow or germinate to continue the lifecycle.
During Wednesdays in the summer, SELCC holds art classes with local artists or classes with Linn County Master Gardeners. The opportunities are recommended for youth in Kindergarten through fifth grade. Each class has a required registration by calling in advance and has classes at 1-2 p.m. or 2:30-3:30 p.m.
SELCC and Lisbon Public Library are also partnering for free movies every Thursday at 1 p.m. Families are encouraged to attend earlier at SELCC for free lunch now through Aug. 15, with serving beginning at 11:30 a.m.
SELCC recently completed a $2,000 fundraiser to help provide lunches for the remainder of summer months for Thursday afternoons.