Students Explore Environment, Climate Change in Madison School Forest Pilot Program

Students are swapping hallways for hiking trails and pencils for pinecones in a pilot course at the Madison School Forest. In the Junior Foresters program, K-8 classes are learning firsthand about forest health: the delicate balance of ecosystems, the impacts of climate change and the importance of conservation.

The Madison School Forest is made up of 305 acres of hilly, wooded land, owned by MMSD and managed by Madison School & Community Recreation (MSCR), providing a variety of outdoor programs geared toward environmental education and team building. The new Junior Foresters program stems from a partnership between MMSD, MSCR and UW-Madison–Extension, and is supported by a Wisconsin Idea Grant and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

MSCR Community Outdoor Recreation and Camps Specialist Liz Just said the program aims to answer the question, “is the forest at Olson Oak Woods healthy or unhealthy?" 

“The activities students participate in are hands-on, experiential and mimic what professionals in the field use to gather data,” Just said. “Students are also spending time outdoors, collaborating with their peers and hopefully learning something new.”

On one surprisingly warm, sunny morning in late October, MSCR Environmental Education Coordinator Rachel Leibovich led a group of third-grade students from Glenn Stephens Elementary School through the twisting trails of the forest. The high-pitched trills of birdsong blended with the crunch of footsteps on dry oak leaves as students collected and identified plants with a guidebook. 

Each step in the forest brought with it a new learning experience. A decomposing log became a lesson in the plant life cycle; an observation of the different shapes of leaves explained the importance of biodiversity; the traits of being good stewards of the land reminded students of Indigenous peoples who cared for it for thousands of years.

The students’ favorite activity was a lesson in the effectiveness of prescribed burns - the intentional setting of a fire for forest management, ecological restoration, land clearing or wildfire fuel management. By playing a special game of tag, students learned how each layer of a forest – the floor, understory and canopy – can be changed by prescribed burns and wildfires, and how one flame can impact the entire ecosystem.

“Fires can be really dangerous, but Ms. Rachel said they can do special burns that actually make the plants grow more,” a Stephens student said. “In class before coming here, we learned that the Ho-Chunk have been doing them for thousands of years to keep their land healthy.”

The Junior Foresters curriculum was created by UW-Madison–Extension, with support from MMSD’s Curriculum & Instruction Department. Teacher leaders worked to tailor the lessons to ensure it matched students’ grade levels and was applicable to what they would learn in the classroom. 

Now that the pilot program is completed, MSCR will continue to run the program as part of its Environmental Education field trip options for schools.

“We hope students walk away from the experience knowing more about Oak Savanna forests, having a positive outdoor experience that leads them to wanting more outdoor experiences and seeing themselves as scientists,” Just said.