WESTMINSTER —Eleven-year-old Nick Burton walked along the north shore of grinning as he held a pair of binoculars and talked about a morning spent tracking animals with classmates.
“I think the most interesting thing I learned today was that pregnant squirrels strip bark from trees,” Burton said. “We learned about nature and tracking animals in the classroom — like how to tell the difference between dog and coyote footprints — so I was really excited to come out here and practice.”
After lunch, Burton and the rest of his two dozen or so sixth-grade Century Middle School classmates hopped on a bus to Westminster’s City Park Recreation Center, where they spent the afternoon rock climbing and slacklining.
This rotation went on for two days, and by Friday afternoon, almost every one of the roughly 120 Century sixth-graders had participated.
“The transition into sixth grade can be tough,” said social studies teacher Jill Becker, who acted as a chaperone. “This is a great way for students to bond, and they really feel like they have a buy-in by doing something like this at the beginning of the year.”
To start the morning, park naturalist Sully Tun-Ake talked about animals found at Standley Lake — and how to identify them — as the students whispered among themselves in the small outdoor amphitheater.
“We’re going to be playing detectives to find out what is going on with the animals this morning in the park,” Tun-Ake said. “To start, we’ll be looking for an animal many people mistake for an insect. Who knows what that is?”
A few hands shot up to say arachnids, and armed with a handout identifying animal prints, the group scattered to find
The idea to combine a day of nature exploration with fitness and team building exercises was hatched last year when sixth-grade language arts teacher Derrick Belanger met Leeanne Nowicki, the city outdoor recreation coordinator, at Westy Fest.
Belanger said the school used to send students on an overnight nature adventure in Estes Park, but budget cuts forced Adams 12 to eliminate outdoor education programs years ago.
“We decided it would be cool to design a program where kids could build a bond but have something tied to the curriculum,” Belanger said. “This gives kids a small taste of what we had before. A lot of them who did it last year said this field trip was their favorite part of sixth grade.”
Century is the only school so far to use the program, although Standley Lake rangers are working to get the word out to other schools.
“We offer a list of programs for school kids, but this one really is unique because of the partnership we have with the rec center,” Tun-Ake said.
After a morning spent tracking animal footprints at the lake, hiking trails and learning about animal behaviors, Isabelle Barwick, Taryn Rea and Lynsey Stewart ate lunch beneath a tree in preparation for the rec center trip.
“My family doesn’t go camping so I really don’t go outdoors a lot,” Isabelle said. “It’s my first time out here and it was definitely a lot of fun.”
Added Taryn: “I didn’t even know Lynsey before today, and we ended up hanging out … I think my favorite part was seeing how the ground spiders made their nest in a tornado shape.”
Austin Briggs: 303-954-1729, abriggs@denverpost.com or @abriggs
