KVR is closed due to continued flooding (as of 9/5/18). If you are interested in helping with clean up call the visitor center to be placed on their list 608-625-2960. You will be contacted as projects come up. Monetary donations can be sent to:

Friends of the KVR
S3661WI 131
LaFarge, WI 54639.

In conjunction with Earth Day our Friends Earth Day Poetry contest was held once again this year. There were entries from the school districts of Lafarge, Kickapoo, Cashton and Viroqua. Sacred Heart school and several homeschoolers also submitted entries. A number of young poets read their poems at the annual Spring Fling which was held at KVR on April 28. This year 29 poems of merit were selected out of 148 entries.

Kickapoo Valley Reserve Friends
Earth Day Poetry Contest 2018
Poems of Merit

Bats
By Maycee Schmitz (3^rd)

Bats in nature
Cats in the beautiful wild nature
Birds in the nests
Eggs are the best in their nests
I sat with a fox in nature

Nature Spring
By Phoebe Seay (4^th)

Nature is beautiful,
So many trees,
Bright red apples,
Colorful leaves,
You might even see,
A big yellow bumble bee.
So many flowers,
As they grow,
Gentle rain showers,
Rainbows as they flow.
This is spring.
Welcome aboard summer!

 

Field Mouse
By Elsa Gorrill (3^rd)

Fuzzy
Inside a hollow log
Eats nuts
Long pink tail
Drinks the dew

Moves fast
On the twigs
Under the fallen leaves
Scuttling with small needle claws
Eyes are small and black

 

Snow
By Abe Scheder (4^th)

In December
Light snowfall drizzles upon the landscape
Getting heavier throughout winter

Winter progresses
Fierce blizzards start swooping across the plains
The countryside turns white

Spring comes
Melting snow cascades down
Filling rivers, lakes, streams, oceans

 

The Spring
By Aidric Egge (4^th)

Spring is here. I always knew it was near.
Under a tree, thinking about what I will see.
I look at the clouds. And see what I can Imagine.
I hear birds chirping. And singing.
That song is unique and beautiful.
Even I hummed and whistled along.
After a while, I went back inside to quench my thirst.
I sat on my couch. And took a peaceful nap.
When I awoke, I ventured back outside.
I was greeted by a butterfly.
What a sight that was to see!
Its wings were so detailed and beautiful.
I had discovered a gorgeous creature.
As it flew away, I thought about the flight.
And life of the butterfly. And of course the bird.
They are the realization that spring is definitely here.

 

My Best Dog, Gus
By Malachi McCauley (4^th)

The woods is my getaway place.  A place I love to be.
I love to go there to relax and think, explore and
especially spend time with my grandma and grampa’s
dog and my best friend, Gus.

We walk and talk, search and find, sit and think knowing
we both care about each other. We both look forward to
our walks in the woods.

We walk to the pond and splash, track weird scents and
jump over fallen logs.  We take an adventure created by
the forest and nature.

In the woods, my best dog, Gus and me.

 

Falcon
By Kelli Hirschfield (4^th)

Upon my walk into the woods,
I heard the flapping sound of wings.
I looked up and saw a beautiful grayish flacon
I was amazed. I have never seen such a majestic creature such as this bird.
I looked at it and it looked at me.
Just then, my mom called for me.
I waved goodbye to the falcon and it flew off.
The next morning, I went back to the same spot.
I was so excited to see something old and also something new!
There was a large nest and sitting on that amazing creation was the same falcon.
She was gazing at me while I marveled at her.
I knew that she was preparing for her babies so
I slowly backed away, taking in her majestic beauty
For I knew she needed her privacy.
She nodded back to me as if to thank me for the respect.

 

A Colorful Sight
By Liberty Becker (4^th)

One day I was playing outside and I saw a butterfly.
My eyes caught sight of that crystal, blue butterfly as it landed on a rose of red.
The butterfly then flew by the winding river
and then landed on a huge, dark brown tree that was very tall.

Then all of a sudden three more butterflies came.
They landed on that same tree.
Together they flew high in the sky.
They fluttered their wings and flew off.

I will always remember that day when I saw a butterfly
that blossomed into three colors.

 

To Spring Here I Come
By Nina Clark (4^th)

To Spring here I come,
Under the white puffy clouds,
Above the beautiful green grass,
With amazing bees flying through the air,
On a gorgeous spring day,
In the garden with berries and fruit,
To the daisies bright and white,
From the fields of blooming flowers.

 

To Spring Here I Come
By Jrake Denman (4^th)

To Spring here I come,
Above the green grass is where I live,
Under the dirt is where I hide,
With all the rain I die,
On a sunny day if I get too hot I may die,
In a hole is where you may find me,
To your garden is where I go to eat,
From the dirt to the water to get a drink of water,
But to too much I will die.

 

Spring Yelled
By Addisu Newenhouse Wright (5^th)

The spring yelled at me.
Look at those fragrant flowers.
I saw the water moan.
Look at those sad flowers drown.
It just breaks my hearts.
But I think the flowers have powers.

 

Haiku
By Matthew Weston (5^th)

The tree waves around
Glancing at the sky thinking
How tall will I be?

Birds
By Soren Declereq (5^th)

Birds
High fliers
Diving, soaring, singing
Flying through the sky
Graceful

Trees
By Damian Kempf (5^th)

Trees, trees, trees.
A lot of trees.
Did you know that the trees,
catch the breeze the breeze?
I love the trees catching the breeze.
How do trees do that, I wonder how?
They catch breeze.
What would it be without trees?
I don’t know.

Mother Nature
By Jessica Martens (5^th)

Mother Nature follows us.
No matter where we are.
She knows the ways of the forests,
The jungles,
The creatures.
All is in Her command.
All is in Her love.
Her breath is the air we breathe.
Her heart is the trees we use.
She does so much for us,
But what do we do for Her?
We cut down Her hearts,
We ruin Her lungs,
We hurt Her.
But She still believes that one day,
Someone will be born into this world,
And change everyone,
In a good way.

The Hedgehog
By Iris Gorrill (5th)

Squeaking to each other amid the dewy dandelions.
Spiny and brown
Rolls into a ball when scared.
Babies are small, vulnerable and pink.
They nibble at grass, twigs and berries.
Playing together
jumping, waddling, chasing each other
Around the woods and meadow.
The hedgehog!

Fireflies
By Emma Spry (5^th)

Here is a dark night,
But yet there is still light.
Little spots of yellow light,
Dancing in the dark of night.

All around little pale lights,
Flicker in the night,
Not big or bold like the moon or stars,
But little lights in the dark of night,

I see so many little dots,
I try to catch some just for fun,
I end up running where they are not,
Some lights turn off and on.

 

The Night Sky
By Quinn Scheder (5^th)

Blinded by the brilliant light refracted in a crystal dome.
A metropolis of stars mixes and forms.
Standing there on the ground oblivious to what goes on all around.
The constellations delicately made, eons ago.
Fade into the morning light.

Firefly Dance
By Ayawyn Conner (6^th)

A blanket of night overs the earth,
The air is cool,
The grass is damp,
Stars twinkle overhead,
The world seems so quiet,
So still,
Until,
A choir of crickets starts to play,
First one,
Then two,
Then three,
Their music fills the air,
A bright light flashes,
Then another,
And soon,
They are diving,
Dipping,
Swirling,
Soaring.
The firefly dance has begun!
In the moonlight they dance and play,
Like tiny lanterns in the night.
All the fireflies, big and small,
Love to dance to the crickets’ song.
But as the night comes to an end,
And the sun begins to show,
They disappear into the grass.
The crickets’ music slows.
As the new day continues,
The fireflies sleep softly, until next time.

Spring
By Therese Cummings (6^th)

Spring is warm,
Animals are born
The sun is rising in the morn.

When you see a lamb
Bouncing on the hay,
You know spring is here.

Cute little kittens
Sit in the warmth
Where they are hidden.

Adorable goslings-
They’re so small!
Yellow beaks, yellow down

The gander is mad;
The momma is hissing.
Get away! Get away!

The sun is setting
In the night.
Now you see the moon light.

The animals are settled;
The day is done.
Tomorrow there will be more fun.

Skies
By Meya Jean Johnson (6^th)
The skies they change
As if the moon
Was following the clouds
As if the clouds
Were following the sky
High with the birds
That can fly high
Up in the sky,
Clouds will flow and
Howl though the sky
High above the night
Time though the clouds
Might just fly away
In the calming might
With their cloud friends

Nature Teams
By Isabella Cummings (7^th)

I’m the tortoise;                                                  I’m the flower,
You’re the hare.                                                  You’re the bee
I’m the   honey;                                                   I’m all the fishes;
You’re the bear.                                                  In your sea.
I’m the jam,                                                          I’m the worm,
You’re the bread,                                               You’re the bird,
So get a knife and make it spread.            We’re quite the team! Is that absurd?

 

Wolves Life Song
By McKenna Layer (8^th)

We are hunters of night
Always running
Always playing
Most of all always together
We are a wolf pack
It is all for one
and
one for all
Howling to each other
Letting the moon shine
our way through the night
Of course we fight
But no matter what happens
we will always be there
for each other till the end
of time
Running faster and faster
Feeling the wind in our
fur
Hearing the rushing
water of the river
Howling at the moon
as more than a chorus
but as one single voice
singing in the darkest of night.

 

The Edge of the Field
By Caden Johnson (8^th)

A deer,
His antlers big, tall, sharp tines
White, menacing.
Muscles ripple beneath the tan of his sides.
Neck stretched out as he nibbles alfalfa from the field.
Three doe speckle the tree line around him,
Prancing, jumping through the leaves.
Peaceful.

The edge of the field
Another deer,
His antlers, bigger, taller, sharper tines
White, threatening
Muscles ripple beneath the dark tan of his sides.
Neck stretched up as he looks at the doe.
Three doe flash their white tails
Running through the tree line.
Fearful.

 

Nights in Nature
By Thadyn Conner (8^th)

The sky is black, it is night
The stars above are shining bright,
The moon an orb of silver light.
Crickets chirp, a peaceful sound
And graceful bats swoop all around,
As animals sleep upon the ground.
One lone cloud drifts slowly by
A comet streaks across the sky
Nature sings a lullaby.

 

Stormy Thoughts
By Myhenzie Schroeder (8^th)

Bang!
The thunder cracks
Across the sky

The ran drips from
The gutters.

Puddles slowly form
And the clouds clear,
Slowly
Slowly
Slowly
And the world smells
of spring

Mud and leaves
Sticks and trees
And the birds and bees

The bright flash
Brings me out of my daze
I return to the
Real world
And stare

The brightness blinds me
And I suddenly can’t breathe
I’m washed away
I can’t resurface
So I let it take me
I letit
Take me
With it
And float away from it all