This summer, Winneshiek County Conservation hosted second grade teacher Brenna Ramstad through the Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program. Mrs. Ramstad currently teaches in the South Winneshiek Community School District at the Elementary and Middle School in Ossian.
The Iowa STEM Externships Program employs educators to work alongside other professionals in the STEM field. This program allows teachers to see STEM used in other industries and to build partnerships with organizations outside the school building. Teachers then bring their real-world summer experiences into the classroom to show students how the skills they learn in school are essential to their future careers.
Through her experience, Mrs. Ramstad worked alongside Winneshiek County Conservation Board staff to support environmental education for area youth. She created active and passive programs for the public to participate in at various parks and events. The majority of this experience was done through nature-based Discovery Camps for students in 1st-9th grade. Mrs. Ramstad regularly used collaboration, communication, and creativity along with technology and learning standards to make these lessons and activities successful. Winneshiek County Conservation programs, including those Mrs. Ramstad developed this summer, are offered to all local educators for free at .
The programs and relationships built over the summer will help Mrs. Ramstad bring more hands-on education to her second-grade classroom starting in the 2025-2026 school year. Her students will pilot a unit connecting the current science standards to reducing environmental impacts with Iowa-based content. An externship experience with Winneshiek County Conservation comes highly recommended for teachers wishing to bring their students’ learning outside the classroom!
For more about the Iowa STEM Externships Program visit:
For more about Winneshiek County Conservation visit: .