Como Woodland Outdoor Classroom dedication planned

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GRS bird workshop 1The Como Woodland Outdoor Classroom (CWOC) will be dedicated on Wed., May 20 at 11:30am at a public outdoor ceremony on the south side of the Como Woodland between the Kilmer Memorial Fireplace and the Como Park Pool at 1221 Como Ave.

In case of rain, the ceremony will be held just across the street north of CWOC, on the corner of Midway Pkwy. and Horton Ave. in the Como Picnic Shelter.

Tim Chase, Murray Middle School teacher and MAEE’s Environmental Educator of the Year (2014), will be the keynote speaker. After the ceremony students will plant a tree in the woodland and take part in a habitat restoration activity in the woodland.

Great River School students adopted the Como Woodland as their “School Forest” several years ago and they have spent many service learning hours and class hours in the Como Woodland.

Other area schools, such as Como Park Senior High, Crossroads Elementary and Murray Middle School also regularly use and volunteer in the woodland. And the 2,500 feet of accessible trails make the 17-acre woodland a popular walking area for locals.

In October and November 2014, Saint Paul Audubon Society funded a series of artist/science workshops for an elective class of Great River School students.

Volunteers helped with the students with birding and the bird habitat portion of the workshops. Scientific illustrator and artist Vera Ming Wong lead the artist portion of the workshops. From that workshop, student artist Annika Quinn’s artwork was chosen to be the new icon for the Como Woodland: the Red-bellied woodpecker (a bird species that can be seen and heard in the woodland during all seasons).

The Como Woodland Outdoor Classroom has been a community driven project since 2006. The idea for developing an outdoor classroom in Como Park came from members of the District 10 Community Council’s Environment Committee after they started removing buckthorn from the woodlot back in the late 1990s.

All are welcome to celebrate and dedicate the outdoor classroom that would not have become a reality without community support and volunteer effort. More information on CWOC’s background and its location can be found at: www.comowoodland.org.

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