Hardware Ranch

"If nothing else, at least these kids have had their hand on a bale of hay." -Kelly Marchant, 5th Grade Teacher, Wilson Elementary 

We developed a service learning relationship with Hardware Ranch Elk Refuge, taking small groups of 6 to 8 students at a time, assisting wildlife biologists and ranch managers with feeding the elk and trapping (in a coral with a sping-loaded gate) and testing elk for brucellosis and other possible disease.  

Between 2009 and 2015, Discovery students flaked more than a half million pounds of hay off the sleigh for the herd of elk that winter at the refuge.  

This video is an overview of the Hardware Ranch field experience.

Clearing the elk trap in the morning.  Students stay on the outside of the corral for this part.