Sept. 13, 2011 — Work on a trail that will lead to an outdoor classroom at Westwood High was completed Wednesday, Aug. 31 under the supervision of Rob Wade, Learning Landscapes coordinator for Feather River Land Trust, and Greg Williams, the executive director of Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship. Several students enrolled in morning english classes assisted.

The classroom will consist of seats in a half circle facing the forest. When a member of the freshman class mentioned a big screen might enhance the outdoor classroom, Wade responded technology could not compete with the wide, tall landscape of the forest.

Once the classroom is completed this September, teachers will be able to bring their students into the outdoors tailoring the natural habitat to their curriculum.

Jenn Williams, an english teacher at Westwood High, said she planned to have her classes read and create nature poems in the setting.

The outdoor classroom will also be a place for her students to read and discuss books.

While the first area of focus is the campus, in the future learning sites will include Mountain Meadows Reservoir, Robbers Creek and forestlands managed by Beaty & Associates around the high school.

This provides opportunities for students to experience forest, riparian and meadow habitats within walking distance of the school site.

Williams said she would be building birdhouses to place along Robbers Creek with her students and connect poetry to this service-learning project as well.

Williams was one of nine regional teachers to attend a Learning Landscapes three-day training this summer called “Teaching from the Land through Restoration and Stewardship.”

Teachers were trained in monitoring and restoration methods by staff from the Feather River Land Trust, Feather River Coordinated Resource Management, Plumas Audubon Society, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Feather River Resource Conservation District and Sierra Valley Resource Conservation District.

The workshop was hosted by the FRLT and funded through a national Fish and Wildlife Federation 5-Star Restoration grant in partnership with Pacific Gas & Electric.

Learning Landscapes was initiated in 2004 by FRLT and now serves the communities of Westwood, Chester, Greenville, Quincy, Portola and Loyalton.

Its mission is to work in partnership with schools and landowners to identify outdoor learning areas near each campus.

The program is designed for children in kindergarten through 12th-grade.

Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship builds and restores trails throughout the Plumas and Tahoe National Forest within Plumas and Sierra counties.

Greg Williams and two employees, Henry O’Donnell and Troy Morrison worked on the Westwood High project.

Also on Aug. 31 they completed trails at Chester High and Greenville High that lead to outdoor classrooms.