JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
Salado Park at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston became an outdoor classroom for approximately 150 kindergarten students from Fort Sam Houston Elementary School during a nature field trip April 26.
The kindergarten students spent half-a-day in the outdoors learning about nature, wildlife and the environment through several interactive activities put on by volunteers from the U.S. Army Environmental Command, located at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, and student volunteers from the Cole High School Junior ROTC.
Since 2012, the Army Environmental Command has put on the annual field trip for kindergarteners at Fort Sam Houston Elementary School as part of the Adopt-A-School program established by U.S. Army North (Fifth Army).
The nature field trip had six stations for children to rotate through in 15-minute intervals, including animals in neighborhoods, predator and prey, horns, bugs, recycling and leaf rubbing. Each station was manned by a volunteer or volunteers who interacted with the students.
In addition, the children participated in a nature scavenger hunt which started with students from the Cole High School Junior ROTC leading them in a military march.
Cathy Kropp, U.S. Army Environmental Command environmental public affairs specialist, said the objective of the field trip is to teach children about science and nature.
“It’s a part of our community outreach,” Kropp said. “We are making them (students) aware of what’s in their environment.”
Elizabeth Lee, Fort Sam Houston Elementary School community liaison, said the field trip is an extension of what the students are learning in the classroom.
“It is providing them with real-life experiences outside the classroom setting,” Lee said. “This is part of their curriculum, learning about animals and nature.”
Since kindergarten students are at a young age, Lee said right now is the time to start emphasizing to them the importance of taking care of the environment, animals and natural resources.
“They will be adults someday,” she said. “We need to start them young.”
The newest activity to this year’s nature field trip was rock painting, in which the students painted rocks from their school.
Andrea Hicks, Fort Sam Houston Elementary School kindergarten teacher, said the rocks that were painted by the students will be placed in a rock bed next to the school to help beautify it, giving the students a sense of pride.
Amy Laney, Fort Sam Houston Elementary School kindergarten teacher, said the students were excited about participating in the nature field trip.
“It’s get them outside and engages them in nature and real life experiences,” Laney said.
Laney said the nature field trip has resources and materials not available in the classroom, including animal skulls and furs and deer antlers provided by the Lindheimer Chapter Texas Master Naturalists from New Braunfels.
Two kindergarteners, Cesar Coastles and Makayla Ayala, enjoyed their time at the nature field trip.
Coastles said he liked touching the horns and antlers and watching the animal puppets provided by volunteer Pat Gonser, from the Lindheimer Chapter Texas Master Naturalists, who used the puppets to teach the children about various animals and their classifications.
Ayala preferred the scavenger hunt because she got to march like a soldier and enjoyed the rock painting.
“I like walking in lines,” said Ayala about the scavenger hunt march.