5. School Forest SummarySchool Forest at Lilleskogen Review
City council member Patti Ray 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 December 16, 2019. The purpose of the
meeting was to continue a conversation 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:
• Currently, there are 132 such School Forests in the state of MN, 46 of which are in the metro area.
• In addition to Lilleskogen, there is city owned 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
how to bring the site into compliance. PRC would coordinate as part of our upgrade to the plan.
• The current, albeit outdated, 2008 plan may be well positioned to accommodate the School Forest.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 DNR delivered lessons. 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
• 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 take the issue stated above to the Scandia council for approval.