6.d) School Forest Summary (Jan. 23, 2018)School Forest at Lilleskogen Review
City administrator Neil Soltis and PRC Chair Terry Gorham met with Karen Harrison, School Forest Coordinator
for the MN DNR, and Julie Greiman and staff of Scandia Elementary on January 22. The purpose of the meeting
was to learn about the School Forest program and assess the interest in that program by the school.
Issue: Should PRC and City of Scandia partner with the DNR and Scandia Elementary to establish Lilleskogen as a
School Forest?
Considerations:
• The details of a School Forest are included in a separate attachment. Currently, there are 132 such
School Forests in the state of MN, 46 of which are in the metro area.
• The 2008 plan includes the school as a constituent / partner for Lilleskogen. We have been tasked with
updating the plan for the park, ASAP in 2018.
• In addition to Lilleskogen, there is city -owned park property to the west of the school that can be
included. This area would provide a prairie setting, complimenting the forest / wetlands setting of
Lilleskogen.
• A School Forest is used as a teaching venue, to include not only lessons regarding natural science; it also
includes using the outdoor space as a classroom for regular curriculum delivery. The DNR has foresters
and other program members to assist the school regarding how to deliver lessons in this environment.
These include teacher workshops as well as annual conferences with other School Forest program
participants.
• Key to the program is to develop a committee made up of School, City, and other interested parties with
a stake in the park. As part of the request to update the 2008 plan, a similar group has been proposed.
These could be combined.
• The DNR would provide a forester to support the effort. They would review the existing plan and advise
on the plans for the site. PRC would coordinate as part of our upgrade to the plan.
• The 2008 plan may be well positioned to accommodate the School Forest. Several aspects of the plan,
such as the pollinator gardens, invasive species eradication and wetland restoration, and the pavilion /
amphitheater, could be utilized as part of the by the school for teaching venues and specific topics.
• The school would largely decide how they would run their programs at the park. That would include
timing, topics, and the use of the curriculum that has been developed by the DNR and other school
forests. PRC and the City would continue with park development and upkeep plans for the park. A joint
powers agreement would need to be created and approved by the School District and the City and
would be reviewed by the DNR.
• The DNR does not have specific funding available, however, has information about grants and can guide
regarding access, timing, and availability.
• Ms. Greiman is interested and would support Lilleskogen as a designated School Forest.
Next step:
Discuss at the next PRC meeting, review these points and other questions. If PRC agrees with the approach, our
next step would be to seek City Council approval to work with the School district on the joint powers agreement
that would establish the terms for the school use of the park.