With Halloween only being two days away all we can think of is goblins, ghosts and haunted areas. In fact, many times we view the outdoors as being a scary spooky place, especially this time of year. But discovering the outdoors is not scary at all.

According to the Casey Park Elementary extended school day environmental club it is full of mystery and beauty!

Casey Park Elementary extended school day students have been discovering the outdoors in a unique way.

Susan Muldoon, program director of the extended school day program in Auburn, and I created an environmental club at the elementary school.

Every week students join us to work on a nature trail located in the woods between Casey Park and Brogan Manor/Olympia Terrace.

This nature trail, which has been named by the students as “The Magic Woods,” was a place where Halloween characters would have felt right at home!

However, thanks to the ambitious students and a dedicated program leader, a family-friendly nature trail has been created that focuses on wildlife and nature - not Halloween.

While students work in the Magic Woods, they also learn about the environment.

For example, students learned about recycling and composting and how it effects the environment. They then applied that knowledge in the field when they removed garbage along the Magic Woods nature trail.

However, the students have been spending most of their time doing trail clean up.

So far they have properly disposed of more than 10 bags of garbage but they are becoming discouraged at the amount of trash they still see.

One student said “Your garbage is your garbage. Please bring it home and put it out properly for trash pick-up day.”

The magic woods' nature trail is a place of discovery for the students.

They have uncovered chipmunk holes, come across caterpillars and picked up tree leaves. Each discovery has led to an opportunity for them to learn about nature and how conservation works.

It has been a joy for me to watch these students enjoy the outdoors and embrace wildlife and I hope that the community can embrace that as well.

Casey Park Elementary students would like to send out a message about their trail.

“We would like to develop this trail into a full-blown community nature trail where kids and families can walk through and enjoy this lovely natural area, breathe in all of that great oxygen produced by the trees and expand our hearts and minds, truly appreciating that the best things in life are free.” Oh, and please do not litter.

For more information on the Casey Park Elementary school nature trail please call Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County at: 255-1183.

Renee Jensen is a community educator of Environmental Issues at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County.