Any season is a special time at Little Creek Nature Area.

Nestled along Dunn Road in Florissant, Little Creek Nature Area hosts more than 18,000 student visitors each year and offers a full curriculum for District students grades K-12. The preserve is owned and operated by the Ferguson-Florissant School District.

In the spring, the 97-acre preserve is teeming with life - baby lambs, chicks, piglets and goats. The flowers and the trees are in bloom and children are awestruck by the spectacle of life that surrounds them.

Students cuddle baby chicks that were hatched in District classrooms under the Embryology Project from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and they develop a greater appreciation for sheep as they observe sheep shearing and wool processing. A hike along a wooded path brings history to life as students discover a century-old cemetery and an authentic log cabin.

Each elementary classroom makes two annual trips to Little Creek where they participate in theme-based activities including Fall Harvest, Down on the Farm, Winter Wonders and Trees are Terrific. Older students participate in orienteering and ecosystem studies.

At the high school level, students in Field Biology courses delve into land-use management, habitat evaluation, soil testing, water-quality testing, erosion control, forestry and planting. The students also conduct field observations and in-depth studies of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects and wildflowers that are indigenous to Missouri and represented in the woods, meadow, pond and stream at Little Creek.

Ferguson-Florissant acquired Little Creek in 1968 through a federal program. Since then, the District has maintained its commitment to this premier outdoor science classroom. Along with programs for preschool, elementary and high school students, Little Creek operates the District's award-winning aluminum recycling program that produces revenue to feed the barnyard animals.