One year In, Missouri’s Nature School is Ready to Grow

There are many ways to learn. Classroom learning can only take a student so far. The theories that are shared in class at some point have to engage practical application. Previously for this to occur your instructor/school needed to schedule a field trip, and that was only for a short time on one day.

What used to be field trips is now a deeper study for Boone County kids

In Boone County Missouri, all the schools have teamed up with the Missouri Department of Conservation to create the Boone County Nature School. BCNS is ready to open for their second year of instruction, and giving students a different -and more visceral- approach to natural and environmental science.

The BCNS area is fairly large and provides for different types of study and learning

The Nature School provides students from across Boone County an opportunity to get out of their schoolroom environment and into the field to experience what was discussed in class in a much deeper way.

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What happens at BCNS ties in with school curriculum, regardless of district so that the learning process hits the ground running with hands-on, nature-based research and study. Currently fifth graders in Boone County schools get a week ‘in the field’ for immersive learning that includes forestry hikes, archery, and learning about sustainability of ecosystems, and quite a bit more.

Learning is varied on site and provides context for students class work

This is the only program like this in the nation, so there are definitely eyes on how things develop, and the long-term goal is to expand the program to other counties throughout the state, eventually including private schools and home schooled students too.