Goddard High School
Outdoor Wildlife Learning Site (O.W.L.S.)
Outdoor Wildlife Learning Site
The rentention pond area and the waterway strip of land between Goddard High School and Goddard Middle School was set aside to be an Outdoor Wildlife Learning Site in 1997 by the Goddard School Board and the GHS Science Department Chair of the time, Barry Schartz. Supported by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism, this site is designed to be an outdoor environmental/wildlife laboratory for students and community members. In this “outdoor classroom,” one will find native flora and fauna to Kansas, as well appreciate all the diverse ecosystems in action throughout the four seasons. Currently, ecology and biology students utilize the area for enrichment to their curriculum. With student interest, the GHS Science Department will assist those that want to gather and study the data of small animals in the park by trapping, tagging, and releasing. While in the spring, GHS works closely with the Goddard Grounds Crew and the local Fire Department to do a controlled, educational burn of the area.
Things to Do and See!
The GHS Science Department encourages visitors to take the time to walk the paths of the O.W.L.S area and learn more about the native plants and wildlife of Kansas. Along the trails, there are twelve, interactive stops a visitor can make with an electronic device to que-up information with a QR code to study the small microcosm of the Kansas prairie before you.
Visitors are welcome to fish if they follow the current licensure regulations of Kansas, and practice catch and release fishing.
Bird watching! Bring a pair of binoculars and find a quiet spot to identify the types of birds that collect near the pond or the tall grasses and trees.
Ways to support the O.W.L.S program at Goddard High School
Leave No Trace – The GHS Science Department asks you to be mindful and respectful of the wildlife and other visitors in the park. Stay on the trails and open spaces near the dock. Pick-up and pack-out trash.
Support a project – To keep the O.W.L.S. park an outdoor, educational classroom, there are many diverse research and infrastructure projects that one can adopt. If you are a BSA Scout or Girl Scout looking for a project to earn Eagle Rank or the Gold Award, the Science Department has a list of needs. Contact the GHS Science Department for more information.
Give to the Chickadee Checkoff - The Chickadee Checkoff is a line appearing on the Kansas Individual Income Tax forms. Since1980, it has provided Kansans an opportunity to contribute to wildlife programs like our O.W.L.S. park.
O.W.L.S. Park Improvement Projects - Community Service
Isaac Cline standing on the previous boardwalk. (Fall 2023)
Isaac Cline standing on the freshly completed new boardwalk. (Spring 2024)
2024 Boy Scout Eagle Project to Support the O.W.L.S. Program:
Isaac Cline (GHS Senior)
Sept 2023 - June 2024
Isaac Cline, a current Senior at GHS, designed and built the new waterway boardwalk in the O.W.L.S. park which is use today. The park had a walkway previously built in 1998 which had been lifted by the flood waters during heavy rain events and had fallen in disrepair due to wood rot and displacement from its foundation.
Isaac designed the current 112 foot walkway to be lifted off the ground by permanent posts inserted in the ground. This allows for water, during heavy rains, to easily flow to the pond without restriction. The walkway was also straightened into a single path and widened to accommodate larger groups of people. In addition, concrete pads and ramps were installed at the ends along with a rail along each side of the walkway in order to better accommodate wheelchairs and create a safer area. Many GHS and EHS students as well as a number of Boy Scouts helped provide labor to complete this project. More details of the project are found at Site 14 on this website.
Kaylee Steele sitting on a Leopold Bench she created for the OWLS area as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award Project.
2023 Gold Award Project to Support the O.W.L.S. Program:
Kaylee Steele (2023 GHS Alum)
March 2023
Kaylee Steele, a 2023 graduate of Goddard High School, installed new Leopold Benches in the O.W.L.S. park. The park previously had benches, but they were falling apart due to years of use and weathering. A sign was also placed in the O.W.L.S. park for Site 13 with a QR code leading visitors to the O.W.L.S. website.
Along with the installation of ten new benches and a sign, Kaylee also added a page to the O.W.L.S. website for Site 13. Site 13 includes the Leopold Benches in the O.W.L.S. park. The page for this site teaches viewers about the creator of Leopold Benches, Aldo Leopold, and his ideas on conservationism. The page also includes information on how people can be more sustainable and help their environment like Aldo Leopold wanted.
This project was completed from November 2021 to March 2023. Kaylee earned her Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouts, as a result of completing this project. She is thankful for the help she received from Goddard High School staff members for their guidance and support. She is also thankful for donations received from Mike Martin at Nu-Line Signs and the time and energy each member of her team put in to make this project possible.
We ask anyone using the benches to always place them back on the concrete pad at the base of the windmill. Thank you.
Iain Cline, placing a sign for the project
2020 Boy Scout Eagle Project to Support the O.W.L.S. Program:
Iain Cline (2021 GHS Alum)
October 2020
Iain Cline, a 2021 graduate of Goddard High School, installed new posts and interactive signs with QR codes at twelve sites around the O.W.L.S. park. The purpose of the installation was to update the educational sites with new information, as well as make it easier for students and visitors to access the data and educational links through electronic devices. Prior to the interactive signs, wooden posts with numbers dotted the park to designate a point of interest that could be found and read from a published, GHS Science brochure. Unfortunately, the wood posts deteriorated by time and annual control burns.
Along with the new metal signs and posts, Iain set-up the twelve individual QR links to the O.W.L.S website so that each designated site housed its own library of pictures, educational links, and informed narrative for that point of interest of the natural life of the Kansas prairie. Iain also spent a full year taking seasonal pictures for the sites, as well as working with Goddard H.S. faculty and Goddard Maintenance to establish the best location for the posts and the correct verbiage to either be placed on the sign or uplifted to individual websites.
In the fall of 2020, GHS Science Club members and scouts of Troop 577 joined together to install posts for the signs. Iain trained the volunteers on how to properly erect the posts and pour the cement. His leadership helped to coordinate the process and all twelve posts were erected in less than two hours. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, each youth observed the CDC’s guidelines of mask wearing, distance, and working in small groups.
After this work was completed, the signs were attached to the posts on a later date and Iain created this GHS O.W.L.S. website you are currently using. Iain earned his Eagle Rank in Boy Scouts in the Spring of 2021. After graduating, Iain went on to major in computer science at Kansas State University.
Pictures from the 2020 Eagle project workday
Many thanks goes out to Mike Martin and Nu-Line Signs for the donation of time and materials to make the metal signs; Goddard Maintenance for digging the post holes; and GHS Science Club members, GHS faculty, and Troop 577 for their time, energy; and overall support.