March 18 & 19, 2019

Those sunny days found 12 students (grades K-4) on Monday and 10 students (grades 5-7) on the trails, at the table in the pavilion-outdoor classroom, and around the fire pit investigating nature at its best, up front and real!

Melissa Bradley and Melissa Belote (teachers from Counseling Associates) brought their Greenbrier students during their spring break from school to experience nature, investigating what they saw in the woods, talking about the plants and animals in their ecosystem habitats. What a great time it was as students put their classroom learning from back at school into the “outdoor classroom” as they talked about the trees, flowers, and the animals living among them.

Among the times spent with docents, flowers were dissected noting structures and functions, the flow of water and nutrients through stems and the functions of leaves were discussed, and a number of live animals were seen (a tiny rabbit, a small snake, some insects, a number of birds).

Have you scheduled your visit to South Fork?

It’s time for teachers K-12 to schedule all day visits to South Fork Nature Center for the remainder of the school year. Plan to come when a bus is available, bring lunches, and get the bus back to campus for the students’ return home after school. Classes are broken up into groups of 10 or so to spend an hour with a docent on the trail, in an art session, in a journaling session, etc., in some outdoor fun exercise that allows for the appreciation of nature outside of the normal, school classroom. WHY NOT PLAN SOME OUTDOOR ACTIVITY THAT BRINGS TO LIGHT THE BOOK-LEARNING OF THE SCHOOL CLASSROOM?

Other non-classroom groups such as clubs, Boy Scouts, etc. are encouraged to visit South Fork; call and see what programs are offered that would benefit your group!

Contact Don Culwell (Programs and Services Chair) for further information and planning: 501-358-2095 cell or donculwell@conwaycorp.net.