Steak cookouts are the main fundraising events for the Austin chapter of the Izaak Walton League.

Austin Chapter 10 has two steak cookouts remaining this year: Sept. 10 and Oct. 8.

The menu includes a 10-ounce sirloin steak, baked potato, coleslaw, bun and fresh vegetables.

Fresh sweet corn will be served if available.

The steak fry is open to the public and begins at 5:45 p.m. Sept. 10 at the Ikes cabin in Todd Park, Austin.

Tickets are $10 and available at the door or by contacting an Ikea member.

Proceeds from the Sept. 10 steak cookout will benefit the “Wetbugs Program,” an environmental program at Ellis Middle School and the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center.

This will be the 13th year the Ikes Chapter 10 has supported the “Wetbugs Program.”

Dr. Dean Hanson, an aquatic entomologist from Stillwater, brings his live wetbugs to the Ellis Middle School classroom.

The wetbugs include mayflies, stoneflies, caddis flies, hellgrammites, damsel flies and mosquito hawks. This provides students hands-on identification before their field trip to the stream, during the school year. The ability of a stream to support the insects will indicate the water quality of that stream.

Approximately 300 seventh-grade students at Ellis Middle School will be involved in the two-day program, Sept. 22 and 23, with Hanson’s presentation given 11 separate times.

This is all part of the curriculum that helps the students understand the biology of a stream and the impact of non-point source pollution and point source pollution.

This year, Austin Chapter 10 will contribute $900 and the Austin Public School District will contribute $400 toward Hanson’s presentations.

Austin Chapter 10 of the Izaak Walton League is a non-profit conservation organization whose mission is to conserve, maintain, protect, and restore all soil, waters, wildlife and other natural resources.

For more information on Austin Chapter 10, visit their Web site: www.austinikes.org.