Bright minds discover nature at Spring Valley

7,500 Schaumburg students each year now will travel to the Schaumburg Park District's Spring Valley Nature Center to explore habitats and learn about nature and the environment.

Spring Valley visits replace environmental education programs previously offered by the School District at its nature center, which was shuttered last year.

Included in the program are Kindergartners, second-graders and fourth-graders.

Spring Valley provided some programming in the past for District 54, but now provides all programming with the closing of the district's nature center.

Programs created by Spring Valley are managed by sixteen full-time and part-time staff members include educational games, poetry writing, insect collection, bird spotting and simulations. All are coordinated to match topics currently covered in students' science textbooks.

Seasonal programming allows kindergartners who visit Spring Valley three times during the school year to see the tangible changes in the environment.

“Environmental education is an important part of learning and Spring Valley is a hands-on experience with nature,” said Spring Valley Education Coordinator Mary Rice. “Students learn from direct contact with the ecosystems of Spring Valley.”

By extending the learning process from the classroom to the outdoors, students also have the opportunity to grow closer to nature.

And the new “outdoor classroom” is a hit.

“The teachers are giving an absolutely positive review of their experience at Spring Valley,” said Jim Vreeland, Director of Math and Science Education for District 54.

The children see changes in the plant and animal live through exploration that extends far beyond the classroom, Vreeland said.