News at Buckley
Buckley Grows on the Nature Trail
Did you know that Buckley has a nature trail? Right behind the bleachers on Gilley Field, a trail winds its way through the beautiful (and currently very green) Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.
The hills surrounding Gilley went largely unexplored for decades. Then, in November of 1996, the Buckley science department and the eighth grade Earth Science class began constructing the nature trail in the conservancy area south of the school.
“We used to go up there for eighth grade service projects,” said science teacher Rich Edelen, who joined Buckley in 2004. “Half the class would go up to clean the trail, stabilize the soil, carve dirt steps, and catalog the plants we found up there. After that, the other half of the class would go up. We did that about twice a year.”
“We used to go up there for eighth grade service projects,” said science teacher Rich Edelen, who joined Buckley in 2004. “Half the class would go up to clean the trail, stabilize the soil, carve dirt steps, and catalog the plants we found up there. After that, the other half of the class would go up. We did that about twice a year.”
The trail loops through Fossil Ridge Park, which the Santa Monica Conservancy calls, “one of the most prolific paleontological sites in the Santa Monica Mountains. Miocene era fossil beds are rich with fossilized porpoises, whales, sharks, and lantern fish.”
Recently, as the campus underwent construction on The Center for Community and the Arts, fossils were found as construction workers dug the foundations of the building.
“We’re unique in our setting – we have all the benefits of the city of Los Angeles, but our campus is surrounded by trees, mountains, we have a stream that flows under the campus and out to the river. It’s beautiful,” said Edelen.
And the best part? Each division is able to adapt the trail to the needs of its students. Lower School uses the trail to learn about different plants and animals that live in the area, for Middle School it’s been used as an introduction to active participation in your community. Upper School students are able to have weather stations where they collect data.
“I took my advisory up there and it led to such a great conversation about what we can do to make this trail better,” Edelen said. “They spend more of their day on this campus than they do at home. Having this trail teaches them about taking care of their home away from home.”
Not only does it create a unique learning environment for the students, but it provides a space for peace and quiet during an otherwise busy school day. Edelen reached out to faculty and staff members, who showed a lot of interest in taking some time after work for a hike.
“I’ve gone up there during the day just to clear my head,” said Edelen. “I was also just reading some articles about nature’s effect on the brain and learning.” (You can read those articles here, here).
The trail also leads to the remains of a bridge and a cabin.
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