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| conservation outdoor school |
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The District held an awesome Outdoor Conservation School this spring at Lost Lake Boy Scout Camp. About 50 students participated in the 3 day outdoor school, which featured guest instructors covering Ecology, Forest Health, Wilderness Ethics and Alaska History, and Orienteering. All topics were developed using the Alaska curriculum standards.
Next year the Conservation Outdoor School is expanding to allow participation of more schools. This will require an expanded staff and facilities. Several schools have asked to participate already. The Outdoor School is offered to 6th graders and encourages responsible juniors and seniors to apply to be youth leaders.
Next spring a community garden project is planned for Ft Greely, in which students and their families will work together to plant, manage, and harvest garden produce during the summer. Students will be introduced to monitoring pH balance and how pH affects fertilizer efficiency. Working with Ft. Greely science teacher, Tate Gooden, the students will analyze productivity using manure vs. commercial fertilizers.
This winter the students are involved in a weed trial to determine if weed seed is affected by herbicide treatment. By planting previously treated seeds they will conduct germination tests to determine whether germination of the treated seeds is lower than untreated seeds. The results of this trial may give important information about noxious weed treatment options.
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