4 new school forests established

[Lee Borgersen]

       4 new school forests established in Duluth and Proctor

(Released May 30, 2013)

Four schools in the Duluth/Proctor area have designated property adjacent to their schools as school forests through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) school forest program. The schools are Lester Park Elementary (Duluth), Duluth East High School, Proctor middle and Proctor high school.
Teachers use school forests as an outdoor classroom to teach a variety of lessons ranging from writing, social studies and art to math and science.

Lester Park Elementary School Forest is one-half acre and includes a ravine through which the 58th Street Creek flows. Students will work with the city of Duluth to rename to creek to reflect natural features around it. Dramatic exposures of bedrock, boulders, and deciduous trees line the steep creek sides. Lester Park Elementary, which re-opened in 2011, is now a K-5 elementary.

The eight-acre Duluth East High School Forest contains a variety of woodland species, a small stream and a nesting pair of bald eagles. The eastern border is the Duluth Lake Walk, which enjoys daily traffic by hundreds of cyclists, runners and walkers. Duluth Public Schools recently completed construction of the new Duluth East High School building and set aside this parcel for outdoor learning. It is used weekly by the Future Farmers of America students and biology classes. It is also routinely used by after-school clubs.

Proctor Middle School Forest is a one-acre parcel next to the A.I. Jedlicka Middle School. Though small, the parcel contains a ravine and many teaching opportunities. The middle school teachers also plan to use the larger 15-acre Proctor High School Forest next door, which contains a series of kiosks and trails that weave through woods and wetlands.

It is notable that with the addition of Proctor middle and high schools, every school in the Proctor school district now has its own school forest.

Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources.

The DNR school forest program gives school staff many benefits, including access to DNR education programs, specialized training, grant connections and outdoor lessons that address state academic standards. Schools can also get free tree seedlings and DNR forester help in creating site-specific land management plans to maintain school forests for optimum long-term forest health.

Currently there are 125 school forests in Minnesota. For more information about the DNR’s school forest program, visit www.mndnr.gov/schoolforest.