Kickapoo Valley Forest School: Forging Connections to the Environment
Residents of the verdant Kickapoo Valley—part of the Driftless Region, untouched by glaciers—wanted their children to understand and appreciate the natural beauty and resources of the woods and streams around them. They wanted regular outings for youngsters in the environment surrounding them in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve, an 8,600-acre conservation area that offers a wealth of nature to explore. The primarily rural region in southwest Wisconsin also faces socioeconomic challenges and few options for child care.
Farm Table Foundation: Bringing Food From Farm to Table
Creating an organization that seeks to educate people about soil health and about the benefits of locally grown food can be a challenge—especially if that organization is in Amery. This small community in northwest Wisconsin has a population of less than 3,000 people. Compounding the situation for the founders of the Farm Table Foundation was the difficulty of hiring and retaining staff, and then the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Woodland Regional Technical Academy: Boosting Rural Education
Educational and career opportunities are often limited for students in rural areas. To level the educational playing field for rural Wisconsin youth, representatives of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College teamed up with local school districts to provide supplemental classes to area high school students. The goal was to provide college-level experiences and training that could give students a jump-start toward a successful career.
PBS Wisconsin Ready to Learn: Enhancing Early Education
Children in low-income communities often miss out on some of the educational opportunities available to those in higher-income areas, and their families often face challenges such as food or housing insecurity. Could high-quality, media-rich learning programs help address these challenges? Were there opportunities to get families more involved in their children’s early education? The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Public Broadcasting Service set out to answer those questions.
