The morning started with heavy, spring rain. But despite the weather and a school bus delay that left students briefly stuck on the side of the highway, Hyndes Lodge at Curt Gowdy State Park was soon packed with about 50 fourth graders from Laramie’s Linford Elementary School. As they walked in, each kid grabbed a notebook to decorate with outdoor themed stickers.
The students were attending Albany County Outdoor School. The program is run by the local nonprofit Common Outdoor Ground, which works to place volunteers on public lands. Director Nicole Foss said local fourth and fifth graders used to take an annual trip to the Teton Science Schools, near Jackson. But the bus ride was long, the whole trip required long hours from parent chaperones and teachers who were already working full time, and it was expensive. Families had to raise thousands of dollars themselves. After those trips ended in 2020, Common Outdoor Ground started thinking about ways to replicate the experience in Albany County.
“We have unparalleled access to public lands, we have many expert instructors at the university, we have a lot of people who are enthusiastic and really engaged in early childhood education and K through 12 education,” said Foss.
The first Outdoor School session was last year. Sessions take place in the fall and the spring and are supported by grants. The program is free to students and schools; the only requirement from the schools is a bus for transportation. Outdoor School is spread over two days. The first is focused on science standards. Foss said they work closely with teachers to decide what content they should cover.
“It's a great reminder of, ‘Oh yeah, we talked about animal adaptation in class. But now we get to see it with these tracks in the wild or with these pelts from this trunk,’” said Foss.
Day one was packed with science stations about things like soil, rocks and engineering. Instructors joined from the Wyoming Department of Game and Fish, the Wyoming Naturalist Program and the University of Wyoming’s Science Initiative Roadshow.
After mixing clumps of soil into water, students ran tests for pH and nitrogen levels. Fourth grader Bode peered into the slurry.
“Yeah, I think I’m going to take a little bite,” he decided.
Fortunately, he wasn’t able to follow through with his plan. The students flattened soil into ribbons to observe its texture. All these details were jotted down into their brightly decorated notebooks.
During a misty nature hike, naturalist Katie Wynne challenged students to smell a large, damp rock.
“What does it smell like?” she asked.
“Grossness,” one student quickly responded.
“I don’t like the smell of it,” another piped in.
Because of the rain, the birding station was transformed into an opportunity for some museum science. Students got to examine animal skulls and pelts from the Wyoming State Museum. They touched squirrel and skunk pelts and tried to identify the creature whose wide, flat brown pelt was sprawled on the table. Guesses ranged from local flora and fauna to a stingray. Instructor Hannah Smith with Game and Fish quickly informed the group that the pelt belonged to a beaver. She then asked why an animal might want to be camouflaged, and was met with a straightforward answer.
“To not be dead,” one student replied.
At the end of the first day, Bode said the coolest thing he learned was at the rock station.
“The breakdown of rocks can be chemical and physical,” he said.
Day two, which took place at the Snowy Mountain Lodge this year, is all about building confidence with outdoor recreation. Instructors teach students about Leave No Trace principles, survival skills and where to find local public lands. They even got to snowshoe.
“These are some things that are really second nature to people who’ve been really involved in outdoor recreation, but they can feel daunting to somebody who hasn’t,” said Foss. “That can be the limiting factor that prevents people from feeling like they can go out and do these activities that, once you have the experience with them, are pretty easy and often very fun.”
She said they surveyed their students last year and asked how many of them had been to the Snowy Range before. Only a third had.
“Our hope is that all the kids that we work with will grow up to be invested in their public lands and interested in being environmental stewards,” said Foss. “You just can’t have engaged environmental stewards unless you have positive experiences with the environment, especially at a young age.”
Foss said a long term goal is for the Outdoor School to work with every school in the district. Three public elementary schools have participated in it so far.
“We all own this land together. We should all be invested in taking care of it. And a big part of getting to the point where you know how to take care of your public land is getting out there and experiencing the joys and benefits of it,” said Foss.
