The 2021/22 school year marks the 7th offering of this unique class where students have an opportunity to not only learn about Natural Resources and how they affect us, but also about the design characteristics of specialized research vessels and traditional watercraft from the past and in many cases, still in use. By year's end, each student will have built a solo watercraft (specifically a Cajun pirogue) which they will take on a spring trip and take home at no cost.
Building our Boats The picture to the right is actually the first picture of a slideshow that follows the student's progress as they continue to construct their pirogues. You can play this as a slideshow or click through the pictures manually. As the pirogues enter new stages of construction, new pictures will be added. MiCorp Water Quality Monitoring Program
This fall we added another year of macroinvertebrate correlation data to the state's water quality data of the Slapneck River. Stylish and safe paddlers Hitting the Water In late May all of the students carried their boats to the school's Quarry Pond for their maiden voyage. All students remained upright and began learning how to handle their craft. On June 2nd we were finally all able to take our annual spring trip on the Au Train Basin. The weather was great, the campfire food was good, the bugs weren't too bad, and everybody had a successful trip. |
Our Finished Boats All 15 student boats, paddles, and seats are constructed and painted with their creative designs. We look forward to our spring-time Natural Resource projects and paddling trip on the Au Train Basin. Wildlife Corridors and Carbon Sequestration Project With the financial help of a grant through the Superior Watershed Partnership, we were able to purchase more than 2000 tree seedlings from Rumely's Evergreen Nursery. Bur Oak, Red Pine and White Pine were planted in a thinly wooded valley portion of our school forest. The class taught short lessons to 4 elementary classes about the services trees provide for us then helped each of them plant a few. As these trees grow, they will add much needed specie diversity, increased wildlife habitat and carbon sequestration to our maple forest. |