By Wolf Ridge Naturalist
This week the 8th graders of Boeckman Middle School from Farmington, Minnesota came up to Wolf Ridge for their first-ever visit!
Todd Kohorst, currently a science teacher at Boeckman, is a past Wolf Ridge Naturalist and thought it would be a great experience for the students to come up here. The kids and chaperones I talked to were excited to work together and challenge themselves through the ropes course and rock climbing and, be a better stewards to the environment by taking our Renewable Energy, Changing Climates, and Geology classes.
“The kids will surprise you in the most positive ways.” — Boeckman Middle School Teacher
One highlight for many was the ropes course. For the students, it was one of the things they looked forward to most before coming here and it did not disappoint! They loved the adventure and challenge of the ropes course and, of course, the wonderful Lake Superior view!
For the chaperones, the ropes course was a great way to see students supporting each other and challenging themselves in new ways. One teacher said that she got to see a student step way out of his comfort zone while trying the ropes course and she was pleasantly surprised to see him out on the ropes course after he had told her that he didn’t want to go up. She didn’t expect many surprises from the kids but then said that if chaperones were to look forward to anything it should be that the kids will surprise them in the most positive ways and that they go above and beyond your expectations.
While the ropes course and rock climbing were full of adventures, many of the students said it was just really nice to be outside to have those experiences of exploring nature and be disconnected from electronics for a few days too. When asked what they would tell younger students about Wolf Ridge and what to look forward to, many said next year’s students should look forward to getting closer to people and getting to know people who they don’t know very well.
Many students weren’t sure what to expect coming up here. While teaching Geology to a group of Boeckman students I heard one student say to his dad, “When I heard we were going to Geology class, I thought it was going to be really boring and about math but it isn’t. It is really cool!” It was exciting to see these kids be surprised by their expectations of classes!
Thank you Boeckman Middle School for coming up to Wolf Ridge, having a fun time learning, exploring outside, and making new memories!