BEDFORD – Yesterday during their STEAM time at school, around 12:30 p.m., students attending Lawrence County Independent Schools helped Trine University representatives clear and improve the trail behind the school.
Improvements include removing roots that could prove a problem for the school’s goal to make the trail accessible for those in wheelchairs.
Mr. Ritter, the original creator of the trail ten years ago, came back for the occasion, despite retiring in the time between its creation and the re-vamping of the trails. He was assigned a group of students, and instructed them as they removed roots and raked the trail.
The process was simple. Students were split off into teams, 5-6 per teacher involved, and organized into workforces. Assignments included root removal, raking, wheel-barrow delivery of wood shavings and mulch along with other needed tasks at hand.
There was a lot of laughter and a lot of fun. For those who needed it, there was water made easily accessible to keep the kids healthy and hydrated. Most of the work occurred in the shade but still proved a sweaty ordeal.
The kids took shifts with the wheelbarrows so everyone got a turn to work in the shade.
“It’s fun, but it makes me so tired,” said nine-year-old Eric Reed, who was excited to help, but not a fan of the heat.
Despite the weather, the kids and staff, as well as Trine volunteers worked hard until 2 p.m., when they headed to the shelter-house for fresh watermelon grown in their own school garden.
The consensus seemed to be that while the work was hard, but it was fun and satisfying. Several students agreed that it was a good break from academic work.
LCIS students will have a well-rounded education, learning both technical and academic skills for their future.
