Part of the Storm by T.J. Yocum Wolf Ridge Naturalist Wolf Ridge Almanac Fall 2002

Walking up the path to the Administration Building one recent August morning, a thundercloud opened and rain came pummeling down on the leaves, ground, and me. Trail lights began to flicker on as the sky darkened. The thudding I heard from within my own protective shell of a raincoat was blending into the world around me. I was not simply walking to my job, but I felt distinctly a part of this rainy ridge top world.

I stopped before entering and watched the rain for a few minutes. This brought back distinct memories. I could see my younger self sitting beneath the porch and watching the awesome power of a summer storm. Occasionally my siblings and I would race to the end of the driveway, touch the mailbox, and run back. Of course we ran without raincoats, and the goal...well, there was no goal. We ran because we wanted to be a part of the storm.

Wolf Ridge has many goals. One of the main components of my job is working with over 170 school groups, trying to coordinate their schedules, fulfill their requests, and (as part of the larger team at Wolf Ridge) trying to deliver a quality educational program to the students, visiting teachers, and adult chaperones that attend.

It is natural to set some high standards for the educational program. Look at one of the lesson plans and you will notice an outline, background information, time frames, activities, games, and Minnesota graduation standards. A lot of time and effort has been put into these classes because we have our own goals. Visiting teachers have their own goals when they bring a group of students to the campus, too. A quality educational experience is one of our shared goals.

Sometimes, however, we forget the missing figure in this picture - our students. What are their goals when attending Wolf Ridge? From a purely educational standpoint I might ask, "Do they have ANY goals?" But this would be short sighted. The goals students bring with them, indeed, the fears, excitement and laughter that students bring with them to Wolf Ridge is the driving force behind any educational goals.

Many children are spending days away from home for the first time. Many students have heard about Wolf Ridge from sisters and brothers and older friends. They have worked hard at fundraising and planning just for these few days on the North Shore. Their needs, their aspirations, their plans are going to shape the educational experience at Wolf Ridge. This part of the equation is often difficult to address in a twenty-page lesson plan.

From my experience, listening to visiting teachers, hearing stories from Wolf Ridge staff, and most importantly, interacting with the students I see and teach, the memories children take with them from Wolf Ridge do not necessarily take place in class. Working with friends serving food at KP, seeing their classroom teachers outside of school, laughing with a new friend, these are the memories and "lessons" that may last a lifetime.

We would like our students to learn about ecology, logging practices, team building, managing populations, and maybe a little chemistry. We wish to promote stewardship of the environment. But as I watch the rain rolling down the road, I realize that not everyone attending Wolf Ridge is coming for the same reasons that Wolf Ridge hopes. Some people will not remember that the pH of the rain falling is about 4.7. They might not remember how the fragile wetlands absorb this water. They may have forgotten how watersheds work and all the effects this has upon Lake Superior.

They may instead remember running from Dining Hall to Dorm in the pouring rain. They may remember that the only noise they heard is the water on the leaves and ground. Maybe that is the lesson that they learn. Maybe that is enough.

T.J. is the School Program Coordinator. He has a degree in Ecology, Ethology, and Evolution. Playing games of all varieties is his pastime. Look for "table curling" coming your way soon.