Learning in the Park

Throughout 2016, 6,940 students benefited from Forest Park Forever-sponsored programs, with our team helping connect classroom curricula with the wonders of nature in Forest Park.

756 teachers benefited from professional development and one-on-one mentoring, including participation in our 16th annual Voyage of Learning Teachers' Academy. One participant, Mark S., told us at the program's close, “The teachers of the Voyager program are now better equipped to help our students see the world around them.”

This innovative program brought hands-on experiential conservation education into the classrooms of 185 teachers and 620 students, plus provided 9 high schoolers with paid conservation internships alongside our team. “This job gave me purpose," said Ja Monte, one of our Nature Works Crew Members "I have grown a lot as a person.”

Forest Park Forever and the Missouri Department of Conservation were thrilled to introduce this series of audio tours of Forest Park's Nature Reserve system, narrated by Fox 2's John Pertzborn.

The Forest Park Summer Youth Experience provided an in-depth, experiential day camp experience in Forest Park for approximately 80 children from the Boys & Girls Club of Greater St. Louis. The program has shown great success in teaching urban children facts and skills about forests, fish, wildlife and nature in general while building confidence in the outdoors and cooperation skills, and providing a safe, productive experience during ordinarily idle summer months.