HAMILTON, Ohio — Last month Ridgeway Elementary School in Hamilton became the state’s 150th WILD School Site.

These are the brainstorm of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Division of Wildlife. WILD School Site projects allow teachers to take lesson plans outdoors, bringing conservation education concepts to life for students and teaching everyday subjects such as art, literature, math and science. An added benefit is the improvement of schoolyard habitat for wildlife and people, which enhances outdoor learning experiences.

Students at Ridgeway Elementary completed several outdoor projects that benefit wildlife and their habitats, encouraging and providing food, water, shelter and space. These included building gardens and planting trees, flowers and bushes that provide food and shelter. The students created a trail system through the school grounds and erected birdhouses for nesting and shelter.

The fifth-graders at this school are using a woodland outdoor space as a classroom, complete with tree stump seating. The outdoor classroom served as setting for a family reading night and hike earlier this year. All grade levels take part in the woodland space that surrounds this school.

“Outdoor education gives depth to curriculum and makes an important contribution to a student’s physical, personal, social and academic education,” said school Principal Kathy Wagonfield. “We need to weave together the academic and experiential knowledge in order to carve out a sense of understanding and a place in our extremely complex world.”

The WILD School Sites program is considered an action extension of the national Project Wild program. Any school property used by students, teachers and the community as a place to learn about the benefit from wildlife and the environment can be certified.

Ohio teachers who have successfully used WILD in their classrooms are eligible for grants (totaling $500 each) from the DNR Division of Wildlife. Forty such grants are awarded in the state annually. Funding comes from the sale of Ohio hunting and fishing licenses.

For information about the WILD School Sites program, contact wildlife communication specialist Kathy Garza-Behr at 937-347-0920, or 800-WILDLIFE (945-3543).