Outdoor School

An opportunity for students to be able to build something hands-on using recycled and repurposed materials.  This space has a flexible design and can be used for all types of different projects for students young and old alike.  It has been used to construct everything from: model fossils to marble roller coasters to seed dispersal systems to parachutes for toy figures.  For older students, there are also a variety of small hand tools (hammers, drills, knives, and hot glue guns just to name a few) that may be used for the creation of bigger projects as well.

This is an amazing opportunity for students of all ages to explore the forest in a safe and protected environment.  Many lessons can be incorporated into the several miles worth of trails around the property, including plant study, animal habitat study, water quality surveys, microclimate investigations, and human-environmental impacts.  Additionally, there are several self-guided tour routes for students to follow through the area.

One of the integral parts of the Natural Resource Center is the Food Forest.  In this area, many different varieties of foods, including such diverse offerings as mushrooms to sunflowers to grains to cabbage to squash.  All of the crops are able to be prepared in the greenhouse, planted, nurtured, and harvested by students (depending on the time of year).  These products can then take it into the adjacent commercially certified kitchen to be processed and made into various delicious goodies.

This area is still under construction (scheduled to be completed by June, 2025).  It will have several hands on exhibits for students to see the many uses of water.  Specifically, it will include one area where students are able to model dams and locks and a separate area where students will be able to model a hydroelectric dam that produces real energy and electricity.

One of the residences on property is an area with specialized geological equipment that can be used to investigate the unique geological surroundings of the Natural Resource Center.  This area will prove to be useful for everyone from amateur rock hounds to those who have been doing so for years.  There will also be dedicated space here to complete several different types of soil and water tests on the surrounding landscape.