Students, biologists complete conservation project

You might see more wildlife while out on the range at the Heartland Public Shooting Park this summer, thanks to some local students and biologists.

Students with Grand Island Public School's Success Academy worked alongside professionals in the community to create a wildlife habitat Tuesday.

They planted 100 shrubs in a field just east of the shooting range.

"It's just good to get out here with the community and help out and do stuff in kind of my own backyard," said Mason Alfrey, a student at the Success Academy.

They planted four types of shrubs, each meant to attract birds and butterflies. The area creates a unique and safe habitat for wildlife.

This conservation project also gave the kids a chance to work with people from Pheasants Forever and the Central Platte NRD. While they planted the shrubs, these professionals educated them about what they were doing, and the importance of nature.

"They can come back in later years and see how its changed and how its improved. Just to let them know that this is an option for a job and that this is something that's possible to do," said Bill Hiatt, a resource conservationist with the CPNRD.

The purpose of projects like this isn't just to get kids out of the classroom.

It gives them some hands-on experience, and gets them into the community they live in.

"There's a real need to have students interact with the environment and know what's going on, because we have to keep the earth healthy," said Ken DeFrank, director of the Success Academy. "By coming in here, and contributing and adding something to the environment; that's what we want to do."

It'll take several years for the shrubs to be full, but they're hoping to see some progress on them this summer.

DeFrank said the habitat will serve as another outdoor classroom for the academy and school district, and hopefully for the rest of the community.

This isn't the first conservation project students have worked on, and it isn't the last. DeFrank said come fall, students will work with the city of Grand Island and the Friends of Grand Island Parks to redo some flower beds by Stolley Park.