By Katie Hammond
The Morning Sun fourth through sixth-grade students recently embarked on a three-day, two-night adventure to the Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center in Lanesboro, Minn.
This three-year tradition started clear back in 1998 and has been going strong ever since. This year’s trip took place Oct. 15-17.
Tammy Noble, a Morning Sun sixth-grade teacher, has been a part of the trips since their inception.
The trip has had a lasting impact on students — with many parents waning to see their children have the same experience.
“We are at the point where the parents of our students attended a trip to Eagle Bluff when they were in school,” Noble said. “The trip is a lot of money and a lot of work, but it is worth it.”
Noble described the trip as a type of “learning vacation” for students, adding: “The students get a lot of firsts on the trip.”
For many students, it is the longest they have been away from home.
“It’s also a big deal for them to travel to another state, and they get to do it riding on a charter bus with a movie playing and a bathroom,” Noble said.
The students participate in a variety of educational sessions and are immersed in nature and the outdoors throughout the trip, according to Noble.
One of Noble’s favorite sessions is the Tree Top High Ropes Course calling it “the ultimate challenge.” She said students who complete the challenge become more self confident.
“Many of them are scared to death about trying it, but then feel so good because they’ve accomplished something hard,” she said. “For many of them, it is their first time doing a high ropes course, and it builds so much confidence.”
Noble also gave a big shout-out to the Louisa County Conservation Department’s naturalists, saying: “The staff are always surprised by the background in environmental education that our kids come to Eagle Bluff with.”
Chamber of Disgust
One of the classes was about fungi and decomposers — with students learning about the decomposition of wood, plants, and animals.
Sixth-grader Liam Nelson thought the Chamber of Disgust was “pretty neat.”
The food had been sitting in a plexiglass chamber for more than three years, with some students noting the Happy Meal fries inside were “moldy and gross.”
An apple had turned entirely to liquid, but a Twinkie, a highly processed food with lots of preservatives, still looked grocery-store fresh.
High Ropes Course
Several of the students participated in the Tree Tops High Ropes course.
“I was scared; it was really high,” said Harper Dean, a fifth-grade student .
Even though it seemed imposing, she really wanted a chance to do the zip-line and pushed herself to do it.
“I was proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone,” Dean said.
Mason Allworth was nervous to attempt the ropes course but had some help from Julie McCulloch, a fourth-grade teacher
“Mrs. McCulloch went with me on the course and helped me. I was glad she did because I was so proud of myself after,” she said.
A Funny Story
Perhaps the funniest thing that happened, at least in Knox Atkinson’s eyes, was when teacher Traci Lundvall got the golf cart stuck.
Several of the trails are hilly, and it rained while they were at Eagle Bluff, Knox recounted.
“There was a hill, and we tried to go up it, but it was raining. She floored the golf cart, and she got stuck. The mud was flying off the golf cart. I told her I would be a better golf cart driver,” he said with a laugh.
Additional Sessions
Students also searched for animal signs and explored the woodlands and prairie, looking for scat, bones, tracks, and other evidence that animals had been present in the area
One night, students were able to sit around a campfire — telling stories, eating s’mores, and singing songs together.
“It is a really fun learning opportunity,” McCulloch said of the trip. “It was fun to watch their confidence grow throughout the trip.”
Money Well Spent
There were 42 students and seven adults in attendance on the trip, with a price tag of $14,462.
Those funds were raised over three years by the school, the community, and the Morning Sun PTO. Donations and assistance are always welcome.
The Morning Sun PTO has a Facebook page where they advertise various fundraisers that help raise money for Eagle Bluff, as well as other field trips and causes.
One such fundraiser was Spirit Night at a Heartlanders hockey game in Coralville on Nov. 15 at 6 p.m.