Overnight visit in Shaw Nature Reserve

New sleeping structure, made from Breckenkamp pioneer farm building

Twelve-year-old Barry Perkins got to see a forest and wetlands for the first time last month. He also had a snake crawl over his shoe during a morning nature hike.

The Wyman Elementary fifth grader didn't have to travel very far from his St. Louis home to get this rural experience. Barry and about 40 classmates were on an overnight trip to Shaw Nature Reserve west of St. Louis.

They slept in rebuilt cabins that had started out as buildings on pioneer Missouri farms.

Barry Perkins

Earlier this spring, the Shaw Reserve dedicated two more overnight cabins. Those buildings had been on the pioneer Breckenkamp farm near New Haven, Mo.

One building was the Breckenkamp farm home. That was a pole-and-beam building. The other structure was an old log barn on the farm.

Both buildings were dismantled and brought to the Shaw Reserve. The usable parts were reassembled into overnight cabins. But, these now have modern plumbing and sleeping rooms.

They are on the campus of the Dana Brown Overnight Education Center.

(To learn how your school or group could
visit the Center, see sidebar below.)

Some of the Wyman fifth graders actually got some sleep during their visit.

Walid Azam

Ten-year-old Walid Azam is a fifth grader who was born in Afghanistan. He said he and his friends were talking and laughing until their teacher told them to go to sleep. Walid said they actually did get a good night's sleep.

But, 11-year-old Phuong Tran said, "My leader told some scary stories and I couldn't sleep." However, the Vietnam-born girl said she liked the cabins and the bunk beds.

Barry Perkins said he didn't sleep because "my friends kept flashing light in my eyes." He said they also put toothpaste on his face.

But, during the day, the Wyman kids had fun on guided tours of typical Missouri wetlands and forests.

Eleven-year-old Arman Muric said the most fun was seeing lots of insects and animals.

"I thought the wetlands were cool with the frogs, toads and stuff," the Bosnia-born kid said. The highlight of the forest hike was "when I got to catch a spider," he added.

Phuong Tran

The kids were given special plastic boxes or jars to hold the critters they caught. The cases had a special magnifying lens in the cover so they got a better look at their bugs.

At the end of the forest hike, they put the catches on a white blanket so all the kids could inspect them.

However, Barry didn't bring his snake. It was too big to fit into his plastic case.

Asked what he did when the snake crawled over his shoe, he said "I just stood still." He added, "When he moved, then I moved." He said the snake was about two feet long.

One lesson the kids learned was that Missouri has lots of diversity in plant and animal life.

The Wyman kids themselves are a study in human diversity. Teacher Nick Carosello said there were about 10 different nationalities represented among the 40-some students.

The kids found the Shaw forest had diversity with many different types of oak trees. They also saw that some plants will group together in specific locations within the forest.

Arman Muric

Jan Oberkramer is the education coordinator at the Shaw Reserve. She led one of three groups of kids on a forest hike.

Part way into the hike, she pointed out a yellow Missouri primrose flower. She said the primrose tends to be found in forest "glades." She defined a glade as an area where soil is thin because rocks are close to the surface.

She showed them that cedar trees also often are found there. "The cedars have shallow root systems and can thrive in the thin soil of the glade," she said.

But, most of the kids were more interested in the animal life. They turned over fallen tree limbs that were rotting on the forest floor. That's where they found plenty of bugs and insects for their collections.

Oberkramer said the insects eat the dead wood and help dispose of the fallen trees.

One of the girls didn't want to handle any of the bugs. She ended up putting a wild mushroom in her collection case.

The Shaw Reserve is a part of the Missouri Botanical Garden. The Garden is working with Wyman Elementary and other city schools to improve kids' knowledge of science and math. The field trip was a part of their science curriculum.

 

How to schedule Shaw Reserve outing

The Dana Brown Overnight Education Center is open to the public for group classes and meetings.

You might like to tell your teacher or group leader about these new facilities.

Jan Oberkramer is the education coordinator at the Center, which is a part of the Shaw Nature Reserve. That is located near the Gray Summit exit off I-44 west of St. Louis.

For information or reservations, call Jan at (636) 451-3512, Ext. 6080.

The sleeping quarters of the Dana Brown Center are made from rebuilt 19th-century structures acquired from farms in the surrounding area.

Presently, there are six sleeping lodges, a shower house and an assembly building. Meals can be served for attending groups.

Oberkramer said there is a fee when reserving space. The fee size depends on the number of people, length of stay and the type of meeting. The Shaw staff can present a variety of classes using outdoor resources of the Shaw Reserve, she said.