It’s the second week of June and school is out! It is also a busy time along the Ice Age Trail…

The past three weeks have been full of “last week of school” outings, as well as Saunters programs in the first week of summer. While Waukesha, Lodi, and Sauk Prairie schools were all involved in their own Saunters programs this past week, I spent the whole week sauntering with the students and teachers of Sauk Prairie.

Sauk Prairie

These 98 students (around 70 4^th and 5^th graders, and 30 older students) and 5 teachers were an incredible group to hike with. They were enthusiastic and curious at every corner. While this group was awesome, some of the logistics made this the most challenging week of my placement yet. Factors such as the large group size, the miles traveled, and miles between the hikes (traversed by bus) made for a busy schedule. That said, we all literally and figuratively made it out of the tunnel!

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HighMarq

Before staring on this week’s saunters with Sauk Prairie, I spent the previous Friday with the students of HighMarq Charter School. This school has only about 30 students, ranging from 7^th to 12^th grade. On our “last day of school” outing we hiked up the rocky and wet Parfrey’s Glen, about ¾ of a mile. While some students were skeptical at first, all soon were enthralled by the wonders around them. We took our time, and the group spent the second half of their day reflecting and relaxing around Devil’s Lake.

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Looking to the future, and the past

The experiences that have been most significant to me are times sitting and thinking along the trail. One such moment came when I was waiting for the buses of Sauk Prairie students to arrive this past Thursday. The trailhead was a small gravel lot off of a very quiet county road. I sat down on a large rock to eat a few handfuls of trail-mix. I soon noticed countless fossils in the ordinary chunk of Wisconsin limestone on which I was sitting.

As I sat, eating my trail-mix, these fossils caused my to ponder the history of our region, as well as to reflect on my place within it.

As students filed past off the buses I was able to quickly point out a few fossils to most of them, but the focus was on getting all 98 of them moving down the trail. It was clear that while many were amazed, they had not had the same experience I did.

Later in the summer, as the saunters program focuses more on one day outings rather than the early season week long programs, I think that I will have much more time to share my knowledge and even develop my own curriculum. I specifically hope to build individual reflection time into some of these outings, and also to facilitate more reflective discussion at the hikes end. I am very excited to work with smaller groups at a slower pace, and hopeful about my ability to share my passion about the Driftless Region.