School Nature Trail Revitalized in Walker County

By Anthony Hudson, DC, NRCS, Jasper, AL

The Sumiton Elementary Middle School Nature Trail was revitalized using a grant from the CAWCO Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) council.

Revitalizing the nature trail was a vision of Jane Moore, the former Nurse Practitioner for the Sumiton Elementary School, who retired from her post early because of unexpected circumstances. Mrs. Moore envisioned using the trial as a tool to help combat childhood obesity as well as an outdoor classroom to help the children learn more about nature, science, and other related learning experiences. Mrs. Moore contacted me to assist with the project. I helped her obtain the necessary grant paperwork from CAWCO RC&D and helped design the nature trail.

Mrs. Moore organized a Nature Trail Committee and recruited the volunteers needed to implement the revitalization plan. Volunteers included parents, students, teachers, and NRCS personnel; and members of civic groups, the City of Sumiton, and local businesses. A total of 387 volunteers assisted in the project on various work days.

When Mrs. Moore had to leave the school, Mrs. Madelyn Keith took the lead on the project. I continued to work with Mrs. Keith during the final stages of the project to ensure it was completed in an excellent manner.

For more information on the Sumiton Nature Trail visit the CAWCO RC&D website at: http://www.cawaco.org.

More information about CAWACO RC&D

December 2006

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