 Finally tonight our Northwoods adventure and we're talking trails certainly a lot of people enjoy them in the summer walking on them and there's been an improvement to the newly expanded Dean Mackie School Forest in Baxter. Clayton Castle has that story. We are nearing the beginning of the school year and students at Forest View Middle School in Baxter will notice a difference in the Dean Mackie School Forest as a recent expansion was completed to further improve the quality of the education that the forest provides. That educational aspect is near and dear to Mackie a retired 33 year veteran of the Minnesota DNR. I've been involved with the development of the forest from the beginning that was when the school was being developed and constructed and at the same time came up with the idea of setting aside 60 acres as forest area to keep as a natural area for the students to use as an outdoor classroom. The expansion added over half a mile of trail to the forest benefiting hikers, Nordic skiers, the community and the school. The project was made possible from a grant provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund to the Minnesota DNR which coordinated with the Conservation Corps of Minnesota to complete the project. We had a spot in our southern section of school forest here that we've had on our kind of wish list to do for a long time to add another half mile or so of trail for everybody to use from cross country to Nordic skiing the community as well as our our school kids here. So that opportunity came up we applied and got it. For a science teacher like Chris the project expands the educational opportunity for him and his students. I get to walk out in my classroom and immediately be in a natural setting so we get to do things like measurements and mathematical stuff we can do so GPS science unit things we can do dichotomous keys and nature studies. And as Mackie says it's all about the core mission of the forest system education. You know it's a great opportunity for the students to be able to walk out the back door of the school and be in a forest setting where they can study nature they can learn the different tree species that are out here learn about the different habitats and all the the animals and plants that live here. The Dean Mackie school forest is open to both the school and the entire community. Reporting in Baxter for this week's Northwoods Adventure Clayton Castle Lakeland News. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.