While activities like archery, fishing and outdoor cooking sound like they must be extracurricular, Outdoor Education—as of last year, a new offered course—provides students with the opportunity to connect with nature during the regular school day.

Taught by wrestling coach Shawn Smith, this class was created to promote an interest in wildlife and a love of the outdoors. Activities include, but are not exclusive to: archery, fishing and outdoor cooking.

“Obviously, because we don’t have a pond on campus the most we can do is simulate fishing, which we do by giving the students little practice lures with plastic fish on the end,” Smith said. “We also do a lot of dutch oven cooking, and archery in the Student Activity Center (SAC), which are my favorite units to teach.”

Other class activities include nature walks, and observing the many plants and animals that can be found on campus.

“We focus only a small portion of the hands-on activities on the campus,” Smith said. “Generally, we talk about the big picture goings on of nature. For example, right now we’re talking about the migrant patterns of the monarch butterflies, which have been moving from the north to the south as the weather has gotten colder.”

Additionally, the class is trying to identify whether there is a beaver present on campus, or if the trees are being chewed by another animal.

“The class is just so fun,” Smith said. “I have a blast teaching it and I think the kids who take it learn some valuable lessons.”