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| Jeffers Middle-High School students serve the community |
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Jeffers High School students, staff, and community members spent Friday afternoon visiting their school’s outdoor classroom located at Lake Perrault and the Michigan Nature Association’s Robert T. Brown Nature Sanctuary, as part of their Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative (LSSI) project.
After a picnic lunch, students attended two hands on activities presented by a variety of local scientists and natural resource managers. Students trapped insects with Chris Hohnholt from the School of Forest Resources & Environmental Sciences, investigated the fish habitat in Lake Perrault with Tom Rozich of the Copper Country Trout Unlimited, and identified frogs and salamanders living in a vernal pond with high school principal Michael Benda, took a biodiversity hike with local ecologist Mary Hindelang, explored the history of the Brown Nature Sanctuary with photographer Charles Eshbach, and learned how to identify trees with Joan Chadde with the Western Upper Peninsula Center for Math, Science & Environmental Education and Michigan Tech.
Students participated in one of four service projects offered. From a trash pickup on the beach, to removing invasive spotted knapweed from the shoreline, to trail improvements, to installing a new interpretive sign, students were engaged in giving back to their community. Students enthusiasm and enjoyment for learning outdoors was clearly evident by the questions they asked and their eagerness to do the activities.
The teachers and administrators at Jeffers work to make outdoor education and spending time in nature a priority--encouraging students to develop a strong sense of place. Every spring and fall during the school year, the entire student body spends an afternoon in their outdoor classroom.
“The goal of the Jeffers High School LSSI project is to create an interpretive nature trail around Lake Perrault and to keep the area clean and inviting so that all community members can enjoy the unique features the area has to offer,” explains science teacher, Cindy McCormick.
“Students have built boardwalks and bridges, installed interpretive signs, and developed a trail around the lake over the past several years,” adds assistant principal, Michael Benda.
Teachers strive to develop and implement lessons that utilize the outdoor classroom as they find that outdoor education is an excellent way to keep curiosity alive!
The Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative is funded by the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, and Earth Force
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