MDC Recognizes Trenton High for Outdoor Learning Projects

By Blake Jackson

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) annually honors community partners across the state for their role in advancing conservation education. In the northwest region this year, the recognition goes to Sadie Stimpson and her vocational agriculture students at Trenton High School for their dedication to creating hands-on outdoor learning opportunities.

“Sadie Stimpson and her class partner with MDC on projects that make conservation relevant to the students,” said Nate Mechlin, MDC private land conservationist.

“This partnership creatively engages the next generation of Missourians and allows them to use, enjoy, and learn about our natural resources.”

Stimpson’s class began a pollinator garden in 2020 by preparing a plot and planting 41 native wildflower species. The students continue to manage this garden annually.

Each September, MDC staff host a pond management session featuring an electrofishing demonstration, while every October, the department teams up with Trenton Gun Club to provide a weeklong shotgun training unit.

One of the most anticipated lessons arrives in December when MDC staff and local volunteers introduce students to trapping. Over two days, students run trap lines and harvest animals such as raccoons, muskrats, and beavers. They also learn about trapping laws, ethics, and practices, ending with the popular Beast Feast, a wild game buffet prepared by MDC staff.

“In our conservation class I strive to bring real-world opportunities to life,” said Stimpson. Whether we are working on our pollination station, cooking up wild game for our Beast Feast, or shocking a landowner’s pond, our students are immersed with hands-on skills that not only teach science and stewardship, but prepare students to be informed, capable caretakers of our environment.”

Photo Credit: gettyimages-stockseller_ukr