Wyoming County Youth help design Cliffs Outdoor Classroom
On June 14 and 15 participants of the Wyoming County 4H Teen Camp participated in planning the proposed Cliffs Outdoor Classroom. The Outdoor Classroom will be built on land donated by Cliffs Natural Resources and will serve as a place for students, clubs, and individuals to learn about the natural environment in an outdoor setting.
The teens visited the site located along Raccoon and Indian Creeks with faculty from West Virginia University’s School of Landscape Architecture, staff of Groundwork Wyoming County and the Upper Guyandotte Watershed Association, and Wyoming County 4H volunteers to inventory the area. The group learned about plant and animal species on the site and composed creative drawings and other art with natural materials they found. The site visit allowed the youth to become familiar with the space and to see what is present so that they could visualize how to build upon existing treasures and what other elements need to be added to facilitate learning.
Back at the Wyoming County 4H Camp, the group participated in a design session where they were able to sketch what they would like the site to look like and how it would serve as an outdoor classroom. The faculty from WVU will use the students’ designs to create an overall design for the space. This design will be presented to Cliffs and partner organizations that are working on the development of the outdoor classroom and will be used for the basis of the space’s design.
For more information on the Cliffs Outdoor Classroom project contact Jim Kosowski, Public Affairs Officer with Cliffs Natural Resources at james.kosowski@cliffsnr.com or Susan England-Lord, WVU Extension Agent in Wyoming County at 304-732-8000.