School Forest Environmental Learning Center
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The Milaca School Forest Environmental Learning Center
A School Forest is an outdoor classroom. Students learn about math, art, science, and geography while gaining an appreciation and awareness of natural resources. School Forests build a student’s self-esteem, sense of community, skill level, and knowledge base. School Forests provide students with an opportunity to develop life-long critical thinking skills as they encounter real-life situations in their forest. Student enjoy time spent outside and are engaged by the lessons.
The School Forest Program provides a variety of program benefits and support to ensure that school forests are successful, including land management and environmental education (EE) assistance.
The Milaca High School science and agriculture departments have begun a project to improve and better utilize our school forest. Milaca’s eighty-acre school forest is located one mile northwest of town. Students of Milaca Schools have been participating in tree plantings and other forestry work on portions of the site since the mid-1940s. The present expanded plot of land has been part of our school district since the early 1970s and is under state protection from development.
Recently, we have teamed up with the Department of Natural Resources to create a comprehensive forest management plan. This plan highlights the goals of the area as an environmental learning center and creates a list of priorities for enhancing the property for this purpose. These priorities include tree thinning, buckthorn control, tree planting, and the upkeep of low impact recreational trails.
To view the comprehensive forest management plan please click on the links to the left.
To view pictures of what various classes have done as part of the forest management plan also click on the links to the left
School Forest Historical Photos
Students of Milaca Schools have been participating in tree plantings and other forestry work on portions of the site since the mid-1940s. The present expanded plot of land has been part of our school district since the early 1970s and is under state protection from development.
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Bridge Building
Bridge building volunteers, including community members, school staff and students.
In the fall of 2008 a group of community members, school staff and students, helped haul supplies into the heart of our School Forest Environmental Learning Center. These supplies were used by our local bike and trails organization to build a trail bridge over an expansive wetland. This bridge will allow the trail in the forest to used year round by hikers and mountain bikers.
The actual construction of the bridge and cost of the materials was donated by the Milaca area bike and trails organization.
Click HERE to go to Bridge and Trail Building Gallery page.
7th Grade Forest Pictures
Seventh Graders Planting Seedlings.
Each spring seventh grade science students at Milaca High School go out to the School Forest Environmental Learning Center to plant seedling trees. Along with planting trees, the students were able to take a tour of the property and learn about topics including the school forest history, different biomes present on the property and some of the future plans for the site.
Click HERE to go to 2008 Underplanting Field Trip Gallery page.
Annual School Forest Field Day
Every fall, all 10th grade Biology students and 9-12 Agriculture students take a field trip to the Milaca School Forest Environmental Learning Center to continue working on our forest management plan. While on the field trip, the students have the opportunity to do some of the following: get a tour of the forest, perform various types of water quality tests, cut down buckthorn (an invasive shrub), put up wood duck houses, bud cap sapling trees, scale timber and orienteer with a GPS. Students attend the field trip in two groups. Each group is at the forest site for half of the school day.
Click HERE to go to Annual School Forest Field Day page.
Milaca School Forest Environmental Learning Center Committee
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Committee Members
| Keith Anderson | Milaca H.S. Science Department |
| Damian Patnode | Milaca H.S. Principal |
| Doug Olson* | Milaca H.S. Agriculture Department |
| Charlie Plumadore* | Milaca H.S. Science Department |
| (Open) | Milaca School Board Member |
| Leean Pietrzak | Milaca H.S. Agriculture Department |
| Paul Arens | Milaca H.S. Physical Education Department |
| W. James Hendrickson | Retired School Forest Coordinator/Community Member |
* School Forest Site Coordinator (DNR Contact)
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Mission Statement:
This committee will strive to provide students with opportunities for hands-on application of curriculum content in an outdoor classroom setting, while following sound forest management strategies to create and maintain a diverse and stable ecosystem.
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Committee Long Term Goals:
Informational Signs
- Informational Sign at Forest Entrance
- Planting Year Signs
- Water Testing Location Signs for Ongoing Research
- Tree Identification Stations
Tree Thinning/Selective Logging
Buckthorn Control
Orienteering Course
GPS Mapping
Food Plots
Bat and Bird Houses
Milaca School Forest Environmental Learning Center Links
Milaca School Forest is supported in part by the Minnesota DNR