Little Creek
Events
- About Little Creek
- History of Little Creek
- Little Creek Team
- Little Creek Elementary Programs
- High School Field Biology at Little Creek
- Trail Information
- Science Resources and Organizations
About Little Creek
Little Creek Nature Area is a 97-acre outdoor educational facility owned and operated by the Ferguson-Florissant School District. Since 1974, teachers have provided ecology, environmental science, field biology and living history programs for district students. Located in North St. Louis County, the Nature Area is situated near the east-central perimeter of the district, bounded on the south by I-270 and surrounded on the east and west by subdivision, institutional, and commercial development. Its northern boundary is shared in common with Dunegant Park, a Florissant city park.
The Nature Area supports approximately eighteen acres of developed facilities. Included are a residence converted to a museum and office space, a high school classroom adjoined by a pavilion with picnic tables and restroom facilities, and an elementary building with two classrooms. The site also includes a small farm with a barn, chicken coop, apiary, vegetable garden, pastures, caretaker’s workshop, and garage. There is a nineteenth-century log cabin, a butterfly garden, a reconstructed prairie, a conservation windbreak, and an arboretum.
The remaining acreage is largely wooded and preserved as natural areas. It includes five designated trails, two woodland ponds, a field pond, and several tributary streams that drain into the Maline Creek watershed.
The instructional programs offered at the Nature Area both support and enhance the pre-K to 12 curricula in a variety of ways. The pre-K and elementary programs allow students and teachers the opportunity to meet state and local science, social studies and communication arts objectives not easily accomplished in a traditional classroom setting. Hands-on inquiry-based activities provide students with experiences which not only enhance achievement but cultivate a life-long interest in the natural world.
At the secondary level, Field Biology is offered to students from district high schools. Students enrolled in these courses are transported daily to the Nature Area, where they have the unique opportunity to study the natural world in a field-based setting. Short-term and long-term field studies can be accomplished, and students also participate in the stewardship work required to meet the challenges of maintaining a nature area in an urban setting. “In the end, we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand and we will understand only what we are taught.” ― Baba Dioum
In addition, individual teachers are welcome to bring their classes out for extra nature-based activities. Some of the most popular activities include the challenge course, fishing, geocaching, hikes, archery, and turtle tracking. Teachers are welcome to bring their classes to Little Creek to explore and meet the curriculum standard of their choice in a natural setting (reservation and prior approval required). Little Creek is also used for professional development, summer camps and other community-based events.
In the almost 50 years it has been in operation, Little Creek Nature Area has adapted its mission and focus to the changing needs of the school district and community it serves. As efforts to boost student achievement have intensified in recent years, the programs offered by the Nature Area have been refocused to meet this challenge for both students and their teachers.
More Info
LITTLE CREEK TRIM GRANT 2022
Out with the old and in with the new. With the help of a Tree Resource Improvement and Management (TRIM) grant from the Missouri Department of Conservation, Little Creek was able to remove some hazardous dead/dying trees and plant new trees throughout the property. This support from the Missouri Department of Conservation will help keep Little Creek safe and beautiful for generations to come.
Little Creek Trim Grant 2021
The trees at Little Creek Nature Area had a check-up this year. With the help of a Tree Resource Improvement and Management (TRIM) grant from the Missouri Department of conservation, Little Creek was able to hire an arborist to assess the condition of 385 trees throughout the property. Together, these trees provide an estimated $27,646 in benefits annually through capturing greenhouse gases, reducing energy costs, improving air quality and preventing water run-off. Explore the data for yourself at the link below.
Channel 4, KMOV story
Story highlights what Little Creek Nature Area has to offer the students of the Ferguson-Florissant School District.
History of Little Creek
Discover the Story Behind Little Creek Nature Area
Want to know how Little Creek became the special place it is today? Download Little Creek Nature Area: A Brief History by Jim Leighninger and take a journey through its rich past.
Learn how this natural treasure grew into a hub for outdoor education and why it continues to inspire generations of learners.
Little Creek Team
Little Creek Elementary Programs
At Little Creek, we believe the best classroom has trees for walls and a sky for a ceiling! Our elementary curriculum is designed to help young learners explore, discover, and connect with the natural world in exciting and meaningful ways.
Through hands-on lessons and outdoor adventures, students learn about plants, animals, ecosystems, and how everything in nature works together. They’ll dig in the dirt, see baby animals, splash in the creek, and use all five senses to explore science in action.
Each lesson is created to spark curiosity, build critical thinking skills, and inspire kids to care for the environment. Our activities meet grade-level standards while making learning fun, memorable, and active.
Because when children experience nature, they don’t just learn about it—they fall in love with it.
Fall
- SIXTH GRADE: Team Time
- Early Education: Animals big and small
- FIRST GRADE: Plants and Pollinators
- SECOND GRADE: The Way Seeds Travel
- THIRD GRADE: Exploring the Habitats
SIXTH GRADE: Team Time
Early Education: Animals big and small
Early education will be walking out to the prairie to look for insects. Each student will use a bug
box and an insect field guide to collect and ID their insects. We will also be visiting our resident
animals (dove, snake, turtle, and rabbit) in the Elementary building. The class will also get to
explore our Discovery Classroom.
FIRST GRADE: Plants and Pollinators
All living things depend on one another and their environment to live and grow. After being
introduced to some of the plants and animals common to Missouri prairies, our student
“scientists” hike the Prairie Loop trail, using their senses to explore Little Creek’s prairie habitat
and observing its inhabitants and their unique relationships. At stops along the way, students
consider how the prairie habitat provides the basic needs of its animal inhabitants and humans.
Students will also examine and discuss the structures and functions of plants, focusing on their
role in plant survival and their use by humans. Students will visit the bees/apiary and discuss
pollinators and how they help farm crops like apples. The student will help make apple cider
using an old cider press. Back in the classroom, they will finish their day by sampling apple
cider, apple chips, and honey.
SECOND GRADE: The Way Seeds Travel
In this visit, students will have the opportunity to experience how seeds travel. They will
participate in several activities designed to introduce them to classification. The students will
sort and chart seeds from different trees and plants. Then, the class will be divided into teams,
working cooperatively to create a group seed based on how it travels. Students will also get up
close with some of the resident vertebrate animals at Little Creek who help seed travel. They will
record information about each animal including habitat, food, body covering, how they help
plants, and their type of movement.
THIRD GRADE: Exploring the Habitats
During this visit, students can use observations of temperature and wind measurements to
compare and contrast a variety of Little Creek’s habitat types—pasture, prairie, deciduous
forest, and pond. The hike begins with a walk past the pastures, through a small section of
woodland, and then along the Prairie Loop Trail. As they hike from the woodland into the
prairie, students can see, hear, and feel the contrasts that exist between these two very different
ecosystems. On this walk students will get an up-close look at some of the inhabitants and
experience the sights and sounds of the prairie, pond, and forest. Bird songs, scat, leaves,
tracks, and plant life are just a few of the topics students will learn about on the hike. Students
will use hand lenses to discover what tiny creatures live in the water, identifying some of them
with a field guide and then drawing what they have observed. In the classroom, students will
work in teams to create a critter using a variety of materials they can select from. The animal will
need to live in one of Little Creek Habitats (pond, forest, prairie). Students will brainstorm on a
design sheet first before selecting materials. After building their critter, the students will present
their critter to the class and explain the traits it has to survive in the habitat.
Winter
- KINDERGARTEN: Discovering Little Creek through Our Senses
- FIFTH GRADE: FUN WITH THE SUN
- THIRD GRADE: THE JOURNEY OF LEWIS & CLARK
- FOURTH GRADE: ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS
KINDERGARTEN: Discovering Little Creek through Our Senses
This visit provides an orientation to Little Creek. After exploring the question of how the winter
season affects the lives of animals, students will focus on how some animals migrate south,
returning in the spring, Hibernate, or adapt. The students will visit Little Creek’s indoor resident
animals. Always a favorite with the children, they are moved to the classroom building from
their usual home in the museum so students can experience them “up close and hands-on “.
Also, the students will be using their senses to explore animal traits with our Discovery boxes
and using science tools like binoculars, students observe birds feeding at the Christopher Brown
Nature Viewing Habitat. They will also be using their senses on a Winter hike through the woods
(weather permitting).
FIFTH GRADE: FUN WITH THE SUN
The Sun, either directly or indirectly, powers planet Earth. Whether coal or solar panels are used
to generate electricity, the Sun was the original energy source. In this visit, students will be
introduced to the six forms of energy, learn the difference between renewable and
nonrenewable energy resources, investigate the visible spectrum of radiant light, and look at
examples of how the Sun’s energy is transformed as it is stored, transferred, and used on our
planet. In addition, students will create a “Coal Chain”, tracing the path of this nonrenewable
form of energy from its formation millions of years ago to the light in our classroom today.
THIRD GRADE: THE JOURNEY OF LEWIS & CLARK
Students will study a large map of the United States and test their knowledge of the Louisiana
Purchase, the Native American tribes who lived there, the trail of the Lewis and Clark
expedition, and its importance to Missouri history. Students will then use authentic Native
American tools to create an artifact from flint while learning about the impact of the explorers on
the culture and tools of the Native Americans. Students will also observe and, using a
dichotomous key, identify animal tracks that the explorers might have seen along the way,
logging the information in a “journal” just like Lewis and Clark did. Finally, they will examine and
try to identify various items that the Corps of Discovery carried along with them for both survival
and trade with native tribes.
FOURTH GRADE: ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS
During this visit, students will discover how a variety of physical adaptations help animals
survive in the habitat in which they live. In one series of activities, students will investigate how
camouflage coloration helps some animals blend into their environment and avoid predators.
They will also use a variety of tools that simulate the diversity of bird beaks to determine which
beak works best for a variety of foods commonly eaten by birds. A close-up look at a bird
feather and careful observation of a Little Creek resident dove will round out their study of how
feathers, beaks, and feet are important survival tools for our avian friends.
Spring
- FIRST GRADE: DOWN ON THE FARM
- SECOND GRADE: WONDERFUL WOOL
- KINDERGARTEN: CELEBRATE SPRING
- EARLY EDUCATION: SPRING
FIRST GRADE: DOWN ON THE FARM
One highlight will be a visit to the barn, garage, pasture, and chicken coop to see the farm
animals born this spring, including the calf and piglet(s), along with the resident adult sheep,
goats, and chickens. We’ll discuss their life cycles and how humans depend on them for food
and resources. We’ll also point out the apiary in the barnyard (where the bees live). Back in the
classroom, students will hold baby chicks while learning about chickens and eggs. Students will
also make their butter from cream. This will be followed by a “tasting” of their homemade butter
on saltines, a delicious way to end their visit “down on the farm”!
SECOND GRADE: WONDERFUL WOOL
During this visit, students learn how wool from sheep becomes fabric we use for clothing and
other needs. The process begins with herding. The students will see a demonstration of how
dogs are used to help in the task of herding livestock—a wonderful example of how people use
domesticated animals. Then, the shearing of the sheep by our skilled shearer. Students also go
to one of the elementary classrooms to observe the steps involved in turning wool into
something usable, such as a sweater, shawl, or placemat. Artisans demonstrate how to use
hand carders and the drum carder, tools that prepare the wool for spinning. Next, students
observe spinners using a spinning wheel to change loose wool into spun yarn. Students then
use a loom to weave yarn into fabric by “throwing” the shuttle and using the beater bar.
KINDERGARTEN: CELEBRATE SPRING
This visit will focus on how the spring season affects the lives of the plants and animals found in
both the wild and manmade habitats at Little Creek. Little Creek staff will accompany classes on
a hike along one of the nature area trails. Students will learn the difference between wild and
domesticated animals and look for examples along the way. Students will use their senses and
simple tools to observe particular signs of spring in the habitats they visit and compare them to
what they would observe during a winter walk. Also included is a visit to the barn, garage, and
pasture to see the farm animals, including the calf and piglet born this spring. The students will
also spend time in the classroom, where students will hold baby chicks. Kindergarten ends its
visit with a trip to the Discovery Classroom.
EARLY EDUCATION: SPRING
The spring visit will include an introduction to chickens, from egg to adult. They are challenged
to think about how hens, roosters, and chicks are the same and different, and how chicks hatch
from eggs. Several baby chicks are brought out for the children to see, and they are questioned
about how the chicks look, sound, and feel. Then each child is allowed to hold and touch a
chick. The visit continues with a trip to see other animals found during the spring at Little Creek
in the barn, garage, chicken coop, and pasture, including a piglet, calf, adult sheep, goats, and
hens. The children will have the opportunity to touch many of the animals and feed the sheep
and goats at the pasture fence. The children will also hike along the Log Cabin Loop trail (ADA
Trail), discovering some of the plants, birds and animals that live in Little Creek’s forest habitat
along the way. The hike finishes with a visit inside the Discovery Classroom.
Summer
Summer Camp
Little Creek Property during the summer is a busy time. The Audubon Camp Summer
Camp is run by the Audubon Center at Riverlands and Little Creek. It is a free camp and
open to students finishing 3rd through 5th grade that live in the Ferguson-Florissant School
District boundaries. There are 3 sessions during the summer.
Little Creek is also hosted some other camps during the summer sponsored by the
American Journal and St. Louis Chess Club.
High School Field Biology at Little Creek
Field Biology at Little Creek
Field Biology is a science course in which students attend classes at
Little Creek Nature Area. Field Biology requires students to spend
most of the time outdoors in various types of weather conditions,
and appropriate outdoor dress is required. Students will become
skilled in the proper care and use of various types of field study
equipment, and learn a variety of field study techniques and
procedures used in investigating both land and aquatic
environments. Activities include fishing, mushroom hunting,
prescribed burns, bird watching, and cutting bush honeysuckle.
Proper conservation and land management practices will be
included as an important part of course work, and students will
participate in a variety of conservation improvement projects such
as prairie restoration and reforestation. Students will work frequently
on independent projects requiring both small and large group participation.
Trail Information
Science Resources and Organizations
Audubon Society
If you love birds and want to make a difference in science and bird conservation, consider
joining one of these projects. They’re easy, fun and can be done right in your own backyard.
- Christmas Bird Count – the first count was done in 1900, making this the longest-running wildlife
census of all citizen science programs! This covers a 2 week period that usually coincides with our winter Recess.
- Great Backyard Bird Count – this is a four-day event in February. This is a joint partnership between
Audubon and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (below),
- Hummingbirds at Home – this is a new citizen science initiative from Audubon that will help scientists
understand how climate change, flowering patterns and feeding by people are impacting hummingbirds
Wildlife Watch
Wildlife Watch is a national, year-round, nature watching program for all ages. It’s a simple and fun way to learn about the wildlife in your neighborhood. You’ll also help track the health and behavior of wildlife and plants species nationwide. Participants visit the Wildlife Watch website before they go outside to review possible species you might see; then back inside, return to the site and enter your data online. You can also participate by sharing your wildlife stories online and by joining their Flickr group to post your pictures. Be sure and invite your friends and family to participate too!
Monarch Watch
Monarchs are amazing butterflies that fly thousands of miles to spend the winter in the mountains of Mexico. Assist scientists by tagging and releasing them; there’s still much to learn about their journey. With their studies, scientists hope to further interest in the conservation of critical habitat, both in the US and Mexico.
Earthquakes
DID YOU FEEL IT?!
Since the early 1990s, the magnitude and location of an earthquake have been available within minutes on the Internet. Now, as a result of work by the U.S. Geological Survey and with the cooperation of various regional seismic networks, people who experience an earthquake can go online and share information about its effects to help create a map of shaking intensities and damage. Such “Community Internet Intensity Maps” (CIIMs) contribute greatly toward the quick assessment of the scope of an earthquake emergency and provide valuable data for earthquake research. Follow the link above, then click on the orange “Report Unknown Event” tab and fill in the blanks. Hopefully, we won’t be entering data on this site, but it also has a lot of earthquake info, including historical events and how to be prepared for the big one!
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, Cornell Lab has a birding project for them all! Check out this web page to join one, or all of these great projects:
- Celebrate Urban Birds – assesses the value of different sized green spaces for birds
- eBird – a continent-wide online checklist for bird sightings year round
- Great Backyard Bird Count – help create a snapshot of winter bird populations
- NestWatch – help scientists track the breeding success of birds across North America
- Project FeederWatch – count birds at your feeders for science (Teacher’s, there’s also a version for the classroom)
- The YardMap Network – builds online communities to investigate the impacts of bird-friendly
and carbon-neutral practices in backyards, community gardens, and parks.
