Fall registration is now open for Nature Awaits, an education initiative that allows fourth grade classrooms to visit a state park on a free field trip.
Educators can choose from 30 state parks throughout Michigan, with transportation costs for public schools reimbursed up to $1,000. Trained Department of Natural Resources educators lead participants through 90 minutes of student-centered activities – aligned with state curriculum standards and spanning a variety of subjects such as science, language arts, social studies and physical education – during an interactive hike.
"Nature Awaits really exemplifies the main goals of the DNR," said DNR education services manager Tracy Page. "It reaches students with factual science, promotes the understanding that Michigan's natural resources belong to them, and actually gets them outside and experiencing nature in a fulfilling way."
Fall trips will begin in September and run through November.