EVANSVILLE — A fledgling school forest got a little thicker when science clubs in the Evansville School District planted trees and shrubs, among other tasks.

Students said they enjoyed the recent chance to be outside while working with others.

“I just kind of like getting down in the mud and everything,” said Josh Olson, a fifth-grader.

He was among about 65 members of the Robinson Intermediate School Science Club and Roots and Shoots, the science club at McKenna Middle School, who worked on the Grove Community School Forest Trail.

It meanders around a 60-acre area that contains the intermediate school, Leonard Elementary and Evansville High School.

In addition to planting, the students worked with adult volunteers to lay mulch and put on tree protectors.

“I like planting and I like gardening, and I like helping the environment,” sixth-grader Alyssa Swanson said.

The group also placed some benches, which were built as part of an Eagle Scout project completed by Barry Badeau, a 2009 Evansville High School graduate. The benches were made from milled cedar poles that Joe Francis, the district’s building and grounds director, saved when they were removed from the athletic field.

Many others in the community have been involved with development of the Grove Community School Forest Trail by donating time or materials. The district has received grants, and the state Department of Natural Resources and the city together have provided hundreds of trees to plant. Seed also was collected from the Muralt Bluff Prairie State Natural Area near Brodhead.

Future plans call for a cedar footbridge, trail signs, a wheelchair-accessible teaching area and a nature center in the former high school shop.

Nancy Kress, a former teacher in the district, is a founding member of the Forest Trail Planning Committee, along with her husband, Phil, who has been involved with Boy Scouts. She said the project fits well with the recent launch of the Wisconsin No Child Left Inside Coalition, which will help schools provide environmental education programs.

“My husband and I just thought it was important for kids, so that is how we got involved,” Kress said. “Even when I taught, I thought it was a good thing for kids to get out.”

Login to post your comment. If you don't have an account, you may register for one.