There was a wonderful event in Lake County on March 16, the inaugural “Lake County Ag & Natural Resources Days” event.

It was the “brain child” of the Lake County Fair Foundation, a relatively new entity formed to promote and foster the vital role of agriculture and natural resources in our county.

The event, designed to inform, educate and allow hands-on interaction, hosted more than 1,000 school children from the county, grades K-6.

It was a sight to behold: Kids, with their teachers, going from exhibit to exhibit and interacting with so many people who form the backbone of the community in which they live and work.

There were animals to pet and hug, huge farm equipment that they could sit on and ask questions about, hands-on displays teaching how the clothing they were wearing actually started with a lamb in a field, the carrot cake at the grocery store started with a carrot in someone’s garden.

In all, the event made the kids aware of the relevance of Lake County’s ag and natural resource community to their daily lives, everything from their food to the power for their cellphones!  A comment often heard was, “Wow, I never knew that came from there!!”

All of this was made possible by the generosity and energy of over 40 different exhibits with folks who shared their expertise with these curious and enthusiastic kids.

They demonstrated the relevance of ag and natural resources to everything that we enjoy here in Lake County, and kids came away with a greater understanding of that connection.

As this event is repeated in years to come, the kids’ appreciation will be enhanced, so that hopefully they will become the very backbone of our Lake County community.

Jane Alameda lives in Lakeport, Calif.