At its meeting Monday, the Rice Lake Board of Education heard an update on the River Doc Nature Conservancy, presented by Cate Lucas, naturalist educator and program director.
Carol Olson and the late Rod Olson donated the 88-acre property to the Rice Lake Area School District “to provide an essential learning environment for students leading them to stewardship of the natural world.”
The School District’s goal is to carry on that environmental education legacy. Lucas said to succeed in this goal, two visits to the conservancy have taken place from early childhood to high school per school year, each with a different focus:
• Early Childhood visits offer a five-senses exploration.
• Pre-kindergarten visits study animal tracks and fake animal scat.
• Kindergarten visits teach about coniferous vs. deciduous trees, including woodpecker holes, beaver chews and animal tracks.
• First-grade visits study plant adaptations and sensory awareness.
• Second-grade visits focus on animal traits with a challenge to count 100 sounds.
• Third-grade visits consider animal adaptations such as camouflage, hibernation, migration and mimicry.
• Fourth-grade visits, in keeping with their study of the fur trade with European colonists, include the feel of furs from retired biologist Kevin Morgan and a discussion on the ecology of native beings.
• Fifth-grade visits study the interconnectedness of producers, consumers and decomposers in the web of life and predator/prey relationships.
• Sixth-grade visits consider human impact — watershed projects, puzzle-piece riprap along embankments and more.
• Seventh-grade visits include map navigation, and discovery of local features, flora and fungi, to add to their maps.
• Eighth-grade visits try their skill at bowl drill for smoke and embers, friction points and energy exchange.
• High school visits are taken by specific classes such as forestry, natural resources, outdoor adventures and wildlife. Activities range from observing forest succession, set-up of wildlife cameras, birding for the annual bird count, shelter building and more.
Lucas said program development requires the input of students, teachers, aides, administration, the Board of Education, parents, guardians, families and community. She assesses all feedback after group visits in an effort to provide the best environmental education possible.
She reminded the board of the value of environmental education for the body, soul and mind and that its impact reduces anti-social behavior and absenteeism.
Board Member Bert Richard, connecting remotely from Arizona, asked how many students have visited the conservancy. Lucas said almost 2,400, although that number includes some who have visited multiple times with different classes.
“Those kids will remember those visits for the rest of their lives,” Board Member Steve Bowman said.
Lucas agreed, surprised at how much even the youngest of the students remember from one visit to the next.
“What you’ve done is amazing,” Board President Keven Jensen remarked.
In other business, the School Board:
• Approved the low bid of $627,543 from Sprinturf LLC for removal of the old turf, reshaping, pea gravel and installation of a shock pad and new synthetic turf at the high school. It was the lowest of four bids received. The project is expected to take two weeks and will begin on or after July 1, depending on weather conditions. The turf to be removed has had 15 years of use and is at the end of its life cycle.
• Accepted the resignations of Jennifer Kazekewicz, full-tme substitute, and Barbara Smith, food service-kitchen assistant 2, both at the middle school.
• Approved the employment of James Mireau, maintenance, and Luke Boehnlein and Chelsea Becker, co-assistant track coaches at the high school.
• Gave Student Recognition awards to Ximena Garcia-Rodriguez, a first-grader at Hilltop Elementary; Natalie O’Meara and Lottie Brenizer, both first-graders at Tainter Elementary; Maicee Nelms, a seventh-grader at the middle school; and Emma Anderson, a ninth-grader at the high school.
Most Popular
Comments / 0