The school wrote a school and community forest grant through the MN DNR which enabled the Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa to provide a crew that came to the school for a week to create the 200-foot ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible trail. 

 

Tess Kelley, assistant program manager for Youth Outdoors, headed up the group that worked on the new forest trail, which also included one parent volunteer.

 

“We removed all the sod and evened out the surface before we put gravel down,” said Kelley. “We’re taking advantage of the rain that’s coming to compact it so it’s solid and easy for wheels.”

 

An ADA trail requires a passing point, so a spot was widened for that purpose near the center of the trail. All the sod taken out for the project was moved elsewhere in the forest.

 

“At the end of the trail we’re creating a brick area for chairs to sit on and not have to worry about sinking into the ground,” she added.

 

Clearview’s students were excited to do their part to help in the project.

 

“We cleaned up outside picking up garbage and extra bricks,” said Sonja P. “It feels good to help people and the environment.”

 

“We wore safety googles and gloves and shook out the extra dirt from the chunks of sod and then piled up the leftover grass,” said Madalynn B.

 

“It was really fun because we got to do activities outside,” added Skylar J.

 

Clearview’s teachers were also excited to see their students participating while at the same time learning about the environment.

 

“The kids just absolutely love it, they really got into it,” said Profesora Maria. “They were taking a lot of pride in doing a service project. It soon became a competition to see who could pick up the most garbage.”

 

“Yesterday we were out clearing long grass around the seedlings,” said Profesora Jourdan. “The kids took a lot of initiative searching for the stakes that marked them. It was cool to see them use their problem-solving skills, thinking up the most efficient way to do things. The kids were in their element.”

 

“They were able to link what they’d been learning in the classroom,” she added. “It was really great to see those kids that struggle more in the classroom really excel out in a hands-on environment.”

 

Along with the Conservation Corps, Clearview Forest volunteer and teacher Andrea Coulter had a big thank you for Clearwater Rental and another anonymous donor after the trail project hit an equipment snag.

 

“Clearwater Rental stepped up to the plate and helped us out,” she said. “We really appreciate the community members who’ve supported us.”

 

The project was funded by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) to the MN DNR, to coordinate Conservation Corps Minnesota projects that improve School Forest outdoor classrooms.

 

Conservation Corps provides hands-on environmental stewardship and service-learning opportunities to youth and young adults age 15 to 25 while accomplishing conservation, natural resource management and emergency response work.

 

Their goal is to help young people become more connected to the environment, engaged in conservation, involved in the community and prepared for future employment. For more information visit www.conservationcorps.org.