(04/30/2024) Adams Elementary School in Coon Rapids was recently entered into the Minnesota School Forest Program through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). A School Forest is an outdoor classroom where teachers and students explore the natural world to teach core subjects.

Adams is one of around 150 schools statewide in the School Forest Program, and schools in the program range from rural to urban, preschool to university-level and public and private schools. 

The program is designed to increase outdoor education activities at schools and improve forest stewardship in schools and communities. The DNR provides professional development for staff to help teachers use their school forests and offers site management assistance to ensure school forests are used for many years. 

On April 25, students at Adams received a donation of 30 outdoor desks hand-crafted by Michael and Pam Pagelkopf to use while learning in the school forest. The desks are made of wood and feature a clipboard for completing assignments, and a desk to store writing utensils or other materials while being used outdoors.

During the first activity with the new outdoor desks, students participated in a scavenger hunt and took turns planting red maple saplings throughout the designated school forest area. View photos from the outdoor desk donation at Adams.