Oxford Land Trust to Educate Children in Natural Classroom

Once again, members of the Oxford Land Trust this week will lead all seven second-grade classes at Quaker Farms School on field study hikes at the Rockhouse Hill Sanctuary in Oxford.

The hikes will happen on Wednesday, Oct. 16 to Friday, Oct. 18. The children will be picked up by school buses (paid for by the OLT ) at 9:30 a.m. and arrive at RHS at 9:45 a.m. The hikes last about 90 minutes and the children will be brought back to Quaker Farms School.

During the hikes, there are six stations wherein we the educators/leaders talk about the natural processes of the forest/water ecosystems and why they are so important to the flora and fauna, including we humans.

The hikes are a lot of fun and are very educational, as well, said Tom Adamski of OLT.

The land trust believes that it is important to teach children at an early age about the great value of the natural resources that surround us. The OLT encourages parent chaperones to come out on the hikes as well - many do get involved, Adamski said.

"Family involvement in experiencing the natural world is a crucial relationship in a child's appreciation and development," he said.

The OLT played an important role during the 1996 - 1998 town-wide campaign to help save this former water company property (Birmingham Utilities Co.) from development, and the OLT assists the town in managing the property.

Since the year 2000, the OLT has taken most of the second-grade classes out on these hikes; the hikes have sometimes been postponed when bad weather interferes with good intentions, Adamski said. 

"Oxford Land Trust is proud to maintain this important tradition," he said.