Science Grant

Elawa Farms Environmental Campus

The LFHS Foundation, in conjunction with Districts 65 and 67, provided a grant to expand the Elawa Farms Environmental Campus. From the high school’s perspective, the project would provide additional hands-on learning for students in the Environmental Science AP classes. Elawa Farms resides on one of the finest black soil tall grass savannas in North America, with the distinction of being one of the top 10 wildlife conservation facilities in the United States.

Elawa Farms now plays an integral role in the academic experience of LFHS students and, with the Elawa Buddies program, many young students from Districts 67 and 65.Elawa Buddies is a field-based science program where high school and elementary school students explore a natural habitat together.

Students have used a variety of field tools - magnifiers, bug viewers, microscopes, soil analysis kits, and more. - to identify the world that exists in the savanna. They have compared the accuracy of Native American measurement techniques with those of modern scientists. They are applying the scientific approach they have learned in the classroom in a field-based laboratory.