Work on our nature trail and outdoor learning center over the last year has had a great impact on our school and community. The State Farm grant has allowed us the opportunity to complete a project that began as just a dream. The act of opening the 12 acres of wooded land in itself provided an excellent opportunity for community involvement and in-service work not just for our students but many local organizations as well.

On each workday we averaged from 70 to 100 people who volunteered their time to clear the trail, spread mulch and plant trees. Since opening the trail it has been in constant use by the community as a jogging walking path or just a peaceful area to enjoy nature in the middle of suburban St. Louis. Just this week a neighbor, Shirley Houston, was walking the trail and told one of the school administrators; ‘This is the best thing that has happened to this community. These woods just sat here for years with no way for kids to really get in their and play.’ Our students have been able to make use of the trail and the educational opportunities afforded in the area as well. PE classes take walks and jogs along the 2100 feet of cleared trail. Teachers have brought classes out to read in one of the two cleared classroom areas, art classes have used the area for photography lessons, science classes have taken water samples from the creek and the list goes on and on.

With grant funding, we are now in the process of building a solar-powered pavillion that can be used by classes. We have also installed wildlife cameras along the trail. We frequently post pictures from the trail taken by the wildlife cameras placed in the woods on our web-site. Classes in our building have used the pictures to observe the deer herd that calls the area home, in addition; students from other schools have used those pictures to conduct wildlife studies and herd habits in a suburban setting. So, not only has this project had an immediate and positive local impact, others have found benefit from the information about this project that we have been able to post and make available online.

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