WEBVTT

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(Transcribed by TurboScribe. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) My name is Mr. Bilski and I'm a

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teacher at Oak Lawn Community High School.

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Over the past eight years, I've had the

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privilege of bringing students out to the Indiana

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Dunes for a service learning experience that goes

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beyond the classroom.

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When we arrive at Shellberg Farm, we get

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right to work.

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Students partner with Ranger Jim and Ranger Brittany,

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taking on whatever projects are needed that day,

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whether it's maintaining and planting gardens, tapping or

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identifying maple trees for research, or helping preserve

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the natural landscape in other ways.

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It's not always easy work.

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That's part of the experience.

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Students are stepping into something unfamiliar, working with

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their hands, experiencing challenges, solving problems, and seeing

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firsthand what it means to care for an

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environment like this.

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After our time in the field, we head

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to the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center, where students

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begin to connect what they've done with the

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bigger picture.

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They learn about the history of the dunes,

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ecosystems that exist here, and why this place

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is so important to protect.

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Then we end our day at Lake Michigan

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at West Beach.

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We spend time cleaning up the shoreline, doing

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our part to leave it better than we

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found it, but we also take time to

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pause and appreciate it, collecting beach glass, identifying

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fossils.

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For some students, this is the first time

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they've ever seen Lake Michigan in person.

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That moment alone can be pretty powerful.

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That's really what this trip is about.

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It's about getting students out of their comfort

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zones and into a space where they can

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experience something new, something real.

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It's about giving them hands-on learning opportunities

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that stick with them and showing them that

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their actions, even small ones, can make a

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difference.

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Maybe, most importantly, it's about helping them build

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a connection to the environment, to each other,

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to the idea that they have a role

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to play in taking care of the world

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around them.

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At the end of the day, they leave

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with more than just knowledge.

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They leave with perspective, and that's something that

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stays with them long after the trip is

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over.