Asher Stanfield shows his science project

Science Fair Winner Chosen for Flathead Audubon Society Conservation of Wildlife Award

by Cindy Roberts

On Thursday, February 24th, Flathead County students in grades 3 through 12 shared their science fair projects with judges at Flathead County Science Fair, held at the Flathead County Fairgrounds Expo Building. In addition to the many grade-level life, earth, and physical science awards given that day, I had the privilege of selecting a winner for the Flathead Audubon Society Conservation of Wildlife Award. This year’s winner is Asher Stanfield, a seventh grader attending Kalispell Middle School. His project was entitled, “Winter Birds and Their Feeding Preferences.” Asher did a wonderful job of explaining how he set up his project to gather data about the birds coming to his feeders this winter, and the types of feed they preferred to eat. He showed knowledge of the birds that spend their winters locally and of the scientific method of investigation. Well Done, Asher!

Also of note at the Science Fair was a very interesting program presented to all of the students by Kathy Ross and other volunteers from Wild Wings, an organization responsible for helping birds that have been injured in this area. The group brought out dozens of birds, such as owls and hawks, giving students close up views of beautiful birds and compelling natural history information about them.