The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Wylie kids take a walk on the wild side
By Sean Dalton, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: July 24, 2008
Every year Candy Burns takes her Wylie Elementary School special education students to a very special place far north of the Dexter area and the community's schools.
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The Howell Conference and Nature Center, owned by the Presbytery of Detroit, is an indoor and outdoor nature learning venue for churches, schools, scouts, clubs and families.
Burns took her group of Dexter children to the nature center June 27 and 28.
The center consists of seven lodges with overnight accommodations, miles of walking trails, a wildlife infirmary, nearly 70 environmental education classes, high-rope courses, climbing towers, "zip" lines, a lake for boating, swimming and fishing, a Heifer Global Village, Native American structures, and pretty much anything else necessary for a wildlife retreat, school camp, or day excursion.
Although Burns' third- and fourth-graders arrived as students, she said they shared experiences and created memories more akin to a family during the trip.
It's all meant to expose the students to new experiences and introduce them to a higher measure of independence.
"I do this because sometimes kids learn better in a hands-on environment," she said.
In all, 54 students went on the trip and 15 stayed overnight for the full experience, which is a great opportunity for the students to experience independence, she added.
"It really is a unique opportunity for the kids," she said.
The nature center also rehabilitates 2,300 birds and mammals per year, so the staff has extensive first-hand knowledge of creatures and the wild.
Burns works into her curriculum the lessons learned at the nature center, she said. The children studied life in the ecosystem of a typical pond and how animals adapt to their environments, as well as engaging in outdoor activities like archery and canoeing under the supervision of Burns and fellow teachers Brien King and Laura Haas.
The trip to the nature center cost a total of $2,000. Community service organizations such as the Dexter Lion's Club and Knights of Columbus helped fund the trip, and local business owner Phil Jenkins contributed heavily as well.
Burns said the students really appreciate that the community would make such a trip possible.
"I know it provides memories for the students because years later they'll ask if I still take the kids to camp," she said.
"The kids will write and make use of the information in their academics, back in the classroom.
"They make connections between the hands on learning and the book learning."
One of the camp activities is a simulation of how a beaver adapts to its environment.
For example, someone dresses up in a rain poncho to demonstrate to the children in an easily understandable way how a beaver has protective skin.
"We go back and look at other animals in the classroom in our books and make same connections," Burns said.
"We study the life cycles of prey and predators in a pond that the kids actually get to collect on the trip, and learn how they function firsthand."
Burns has been taking students on the trip for many years and says it has a huge impact on students so early on.
"This is my 21st time going on this trip and I did it when I taught in South Lyon and Willow Run," she said. "And I'm going to keep taking my kids on this trip as long as I teach, and encourage others to do so as well."
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