Hands on learning on the Ice Age Trail

This fall students in Kira English’s 4th grade class at Rib Lake Elementary School traveled to the Ice Age trail at Mondeaux Dam with Butch Clendenning and Buzz Meyer as part of the Ice Age Trail Alliance- Think Outside program.

Clendenning and Meyer are members of the The High Point Chapter of the Ice Age Trail Alliance. They led the students on the trip and shared information about how the trail was developed and the glacial history of the region that shaped it.

The High Point Chapter was officially organized in 1986. The group works throughout the year to create, support and protect the Ice Age Trail in Taylor County through group hikes and work outings.

Beyond just being an opportunity to take learning outside the classroom and enjoy nature on a two-mile hike, the trip became an opportunity for the students to express themselves in a variety of ways from writing up reports on what they learned, to sharing poetry and even creating a video advertisement encouraging people to visit the Ice Age Trail.

The following are a selection of students’ work in describing the trail and what they learned.

4th grade Ice Age Trail Learning

by Eliot Ziembo, Kaelyn Blomberg and Amber Matyka Fourth grade focuses on learning about the great state of Wisconsin. In November we did this by learning about the Ice Age Trail. One way we learned was to listen to a Zoom presentation by Sarah Pearce from Think Outside, an Ice Age Trail Alliance group. We also got to go on a guided hiking experience on the Ice Age Trail.

The trail we hiked is in Westboro at the Mondeaux Flowage. We hiked 2.3 miles and ended at Picnic Point. We ate lunch there and enjoyed the playground.

The Ice Age Trail

by Eliot Ziembo About 70 years ago, Ray Zillmer worked to create the Ice Age Trail to protect Wisconsin’s glacial landscape. The Ice Age Trail is a trail that cuts across Wisconsin. It follows the edge of the last glacier in this state. Today the Ice Age Trail is still being built. Right now there is about 650 miles complete. When finished it will be about 1,200 miles long.

Thanks to all of the amazing volunteers the trail is well kept and beautiful. I would recommend hiking there because it is a beautiful trail. I think it really captures the amazingness of nature.

Facts about the Ice Age Trail

by Jack Wiitala The Ice Age Trail is 650 miles long. A man named Ray Zillmer invented the Ice Age Trail.

More than 100 people have completed the Ice Age Trail.

The trail passes through 30 counties. The trail traces a glacier. The trail is still getting worked on. The Ice Age Trail is open for hiking, backpacking and snowshoeing.