Cloquet officially designates 'school forest'

The largest classroom at Cloquet schools is poised to receive some expert help from the state, and all the Cloquet School Board needed to do is give the classroom a name. This week, the board approved designating the 15 acres of woods, fields and water around Cloquet Middle School as the “Cloquet School Forest and Outdoor Classroom.”

The official name means the district can enter the forest into the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources school forest program.

“It doesn’t cost money,” said earth science teacher Matt Winbigler when describing to the board at its Monday meeting what students currently are doing in the outdoors and how the DNR can enhance the programs. “We only can get money.”

And experts. The DNR lends support in the way of a forester and other experts who can help out in educational exercises in the forest. It also helps districts apply for grants to enhance what is taught in the field.

Winbigler said the forest is well-used, and the district is already qualified for the state program. “We’re doing all the projects already.”

The designation does not freeze use of the school land. Superintendent Michael Cary said “I was told it would not restrict us” in case the district needs to expand through building or to create more parking. The forest runs along Washington Avenue south of the middle school and wends its way west and north toward the high school. Winbigler said students have made plenty of use of the forest, especially since the middle school opened in 2017.

The DNR only requires that schools use their forests for at least five educational opportunities a year. Winbigler said you’ll see students in the forest year-round — counting birds, doing ecological studies, recreating, reading and simply learning to appreciate outdoor space. “We have a unique area of water and woods,” he said.

Winbigler got a chuckle from his audience with the main title on his presentation projected on the screen in the boardroom: “Lumberjacks need forests.”