MDC hosted EPiC Elementary of Liberty for June 14 field trip tied to program
Kansas City, Mo. –
Fish were biting, tadpoles swam within reach of nets, and a farm road made a
good hiking trail for a walk through the woods. Class was in session for fifth
grade students, their teachers and parent helpers from EPiC Elementary School
in Liberty. A field trip to the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC)
Platte Falls Conservation Area on June 14 capped off the students' studies
using MDC’s Discover Nature Schools program.
“We love it,”
said EPiC Principal Michelle Schmitz. “We believe it makes education real for
kids. They’re excited to be here.”
MDC offers free
classroom materials for the Discover Nature Schools program for all Missouri
schools and home school educators. The books and teacher plans are integrated
with Missouri state education standards. Materials vary for different education
levels, from kindergarten through high school. Grants up to $1,000 are
available for schools to buy hands-on nature study equipment. Plus MDC provides
a $7 per student transportation reimbursement to help schools pay for field
trip costs.
EPiC Elementary
students divided into three groups and rotated to three learning stations.
Students fished in a Platte Falls pond. At another pond, they used nets to
scoop aquatic life like tadpoles from the shallows to study before releasing
them back to the water. Adults led students on watershed hikes through fields
and woodlands to talk about the value of rivers and water quality to people.
“This becomes
our classroom,” Schmitz said of the field trip. “We don’t look at our classroom
as four walls. We look at our classroom as the world.”
Discover Nature
Schools classroom materials integrate subjects such as math and science with nature
that a student in Missouri might encounter in their backyard, in a park or on a
vacation within the state. Classroom materials and field trips are specialized
according to students’ ages and learning abilities.
“They’re
learning about places where they can connect with nature in their own
community,” said Wendy Parrett, MDC education consultant. “They’re learning
science through Missouri plants and animals.”
EPiC Elementary
students in kindergarten through fourth grade earlier took field trips to the
MDC’s Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center in Kansas City or the Burr Oak Woods Nature Center in Blue Springs. The fifth graders were in their final week of classes
when they visited Platte Falls Conservation Area.
“This becomes
our classroom for the day,” said Claudia Howerton, a teacher assisting with the
fishing. “They get to come out and see what they’ve studied for real.”
EPiC, which
stands for Every Person inspired to Create, used grant money to buy fishing
rods and reels for the field trip. When the gear arrived, Howerton said, a
group of boys in the class who had fished a lot took charge of rigging poles
and showing their fellow students how to cast.
“When they take
ownership of it, they go with it, and they love it,” she said.
For some
students, the program provides a first introduction to nature and skills such
as fishing. The field trips also introduce both students and parents to MDC
conservation areas where they can enjoy the outdoors. Discover Nature Schools
programs and field trips are available throughout the state.
“There are kids
here today with all kinds of challenges,” Schmitz said. “But this breaks down
the walls and they’re enjoying it. When they get here they’re changed from ‘I
can’t’ to ‘I can.’ “
MDC will host a
training session for teachers applying for Discover Nature Schools grants on Thursday,
June 22 at Burr Oak Woods Nature Center. Classroom materials are available for
free to any educator. But for grants, teachers must take a six-hour training
course. Other training courses will be scheduled later this year.
Educators in the
Kansas City area interested in the program may contact Parrett or Education
Consultant Ginger Miller by calling 816-759-7300. In northwest Missouri,
interested parties may call MDC’s Northwest Regional Office at 816-271-3100.
For more information about Discover Nature Schools, visit http://on.mo.gov/2fyFhQe.
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