Eleven school districts will be awarded grant funds for student field trips to karst locations in the Ozarks. School districts receiving grant funds are Ava, Mtn. Grove, Manes, Plato, Licking, Houston, Mtn. View-Birch Tree, Willow Springs, Howell Valley, Glenwood and Gainesville.
Funding for these trips is part of the Hands-on Karst and Watershed Education project, which offers science education about Ozark karst features: caves, springs, sinkholes and losing streams. The program is carried out by the South Central Ozark Council of Governments (SCOCOG) and partner organization the Ozarks Resource Center, and was made possible through grants from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 7 and the South Central Solid Waste District.
School districts were eligible for the grant awards because teachers from their districts attended the Hands-on Karst and Watershed Education Workshop in April or July, program officials explained. In those sessions, teachers not only learned about Ozark karst features, making them eligible for field trip funding, but they also received a wide assortment of hands-on lessons, online mapping tools, access to educational videos, a menu of additional in-classroom support after the workshop and a $300 stipend, officials added.
Additionally, those teachers may check out EnviroScape watershed education models. These hands-on, portable models demonstrate water pollution and prevention concepts to students.
The total amount awarded to school districts will be $20,000, and 25 trips for grades K-12 students are planned for the 2023-2024 school year and 2024 summer school.
Watch videos, read stories and learn more about the karst terrain at KarstintheOzarks.org.
Contact Tegan Vaughn at tvaughn@scocog.org for more information.
