Hog Roast fundraiser to be held for Wetbugs program
There’s no need to hog the roast during this fundraiser, there will be plenty to go around.
The Izaak Walton League is holding its Hog Roast Fundraiser at 5 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Izaak Walton Cabin in Todd Park. Proceeds from the hog roast will benefit the Wetbugs Program, an environmental program that takes place at Ellis Middle School and the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center. This will be the 20th year that Chapter 10 has supported the Wetbugs Program.
Dr. Dean Hanson, an aquatic entomologist from Stillwater, brings his live wetbugs to the 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. The ability of a stream to support these insects will indicate the water quality of that stream.
About 300 seventh grade students at Ellis will be involved in this two-day program in September, with Hanson’s presentation being 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 and point source pollution. This year, Austin Chapter 10 will contribute $900 and the Austin Public School District will contribute $400 toward Dr. Hanson’s presentations.
The menu for the hog roast will include: Pulled pork sandwiches with Piggy Blues cooking the pork; sweet corn from Honey Tree Farms; coleslaw from Super Fresh Produce; and LaCrescent apple crisp for dessert from Super Fresh Produce.
The fundraiser is open to the public. Tickets are $12 and are available at the door.