Hilltop Primary Students 'Learn Through Resources'

by Lorrie Ham

Hilltop Primary School has had a special connection to the environment since it opened in 1965. After receiving a grant this year from the Cynthia Krieg Stewardship Fund, managed by the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, the school will be able to further enhance its outdoor learning capabilities.

“We are really excited about getting this grant,” said Mike Wallace, Hilltop’s Environmental Education Liaison. “It will allow us to continue moving forward with everything we’re doing with outdoor education.”

The school will receive $12,100 during the 2012 calendar year. Some of the funds will be used to expand the school’s connection with the Three Rivers Park District. Hilltop’s PTA provided funds last year for a naturalist from Three Rivers to come to the school three times for outdoor sessions with each classroom. This year the naturalist will visit five times per classroom – a total of 105 sessions in all.

“We’re actually part of a pilot program where the naturalist comes to us, instead of vice versa,” said Wallace. “It works because Hilltop is in close proximity to several natural areas.”

Eliminating the transportation costs of getting to a Three Rivers facility means the students actually get more “face time” with the naturalist.

The school has made arrangements to make use of nearby property on Dutch Lake, which is now owned by the MCWD. “It’s a natural setting to learn about erosion, water quality, invasive species and life systems,” added Wallace.

In addition, the grant will provide funds for more mulch. Last year, with the help of Hilltop parent John Lloyd, Hilltop applied for a Tree Trust grant and was chosen as one of four schools to receive a grant worth about $10,000 in materials and labor. Continuing that effort, Lloyd’s company will match the mulch funds and the school will end up receiving the equivalent of three semi-truck loads of new mulch.

The school will also use grant funds to purchase 500 science journals – enough for each student to have one to take notes, make observations and document his or her outdoor learning experiences.

Newspaper articles from the 1960s talked about the Hilltop School Forest (where the high school is now), the Nature Study Pond and a project where students planted 6,000 trees.

“We’ve really come full circle,” said Wallace, who shared studies that showed that nearly every subject could be enhanced with outdoor study. “Our students have pride in ownership. They helped plant these trees and lay this mulch, and they are in charge of filling the bird feeders. They see the big picture – that everything in nature is connected.”

The title of Principal Nancy Benz’s grant application was “Learning though our Resources.” At Hilltop, the students are taking full advantage of that opportunity.

The Cynthia Krieg Stewardship Fund was established by the MCWD in 2000 in memory of Cynthia Krieg, who dedicated her life to community service and natural resource protection. The fund is dedicated to projects that promote environmental stewardship through education and innovation within the District.