By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

MILFORD, Ohio — Ohio school administrators find the distinction a bit unusual, but any school honored as a WILD School Site should make its administrators proud.

The WILD School Site program was established by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife to encourage schools to take action in order to improve their schoolyard habitat for wildlife while using the site to learn lessons in the many subjects of their curriculum.

Last week Meadowview Elementary School and New Richmond Elementary School (both in Clermont County) were the 96th and 97th schools, respectively, to receive this distinction in Ohio.
Meadowview gifted students teacher Amy Steinle is the WILD project coordinator at her school and has been instrumental in the promotion and ongoing use of the site in the school’s curriculum.
“The Nature Club at our school has been in existence since 2004 and every year we add a little bit to what we already have,” Steinle said.

The fourth and fifth graders at the school, along with several Boy Scouts troops, have participated in this ongoing, after-school project not only to create a more pleasant school ground but also to provide much needed wildlife habitat. After four years of hard work the site includes a 150 yard-long yard, self-guided nature trail, seating area, bird watching blind, nest boxes, birdfeeders and a garden area with bird bath. Fifth- and sixth-graders maintain the trail, which rests on 22 acres of school grounds.

“We used to include fourth-graders, but the project got too big so we use just those in fifth and sixth grades,” Steinle said.
All of the projects have served as a basis for various classroom lessons, a main component of the WILD School Sites program. Science, math and language arts are highlighted.

“We have a lot of wildlife on campus. It’s not just the birds that are eating from our feeders,” Steinle said.

At New Richmond Elementary School, a similar effort was spearheaded by sixth-grade teacher Rena Snouffer. There the students and teachers created a nature trail and flower garden. A walking trail and seating area was added for students to study and observe nature. New signage for the trail was also added.
According to Snouffer, the outdoor site provides the community with green space and allows the kids to learn about nature without the high costs of field trips.

Many clubs and groups were helpful to the establishment of these WILD sites, such as the Clermont County Park District, Tim Wilson of the ODNR Division of Forestry, Clermont Soil and Water Conservation District, Keith Robinson of the Clermont County Park District and David Tennant, Director of Education at Raptor, Inc.
Southwest Ohio Chapter of Safari Club International (SCI) also played a major role in funding the efforts. SCI funds and manages worldwide programs dedicated to wildlife conservation, outdoor education and humanitarian services.