A prairie conservation initiative in the Iowa City Community School District is bringing wilderness education onto school grounds.

Students from Weber Elementary School, located at 3850 Rohret Road in Iowa City, will plant grass at the school in early November to expand its prairie.

Ben Grimm, Iowa City School District grounds manager, said converting non-usable spaces into prairies has major educational benefits in the district.

“These prairies are really intended to be used in our kids’ education so they can plant seeds, identify plants and wildlife, and look at life cycles in nature,” he said.

Grimm is also the district’s integrated pest management core coordinator, the sustainability representative for the operations department, and the Iowa City climate action commissioner.

With new prairie projects, Grimm said he wants to involve teachers and students.

“Modern education is looking not just in the classroom but looking outside the classroom getting students outdoors and kind of more familiar with their environment,” she said.

Students at Weber Elementary School will have the opportunity to plant seeds for the prairies in early November.

“The students enjoyed planting last school year, and we look forward to bringing it back in a few short weeks,” she said.

Among his many roles in grounds work at Iowa City schools, Grimm wants to incorporate hands-on learning experiences to help them understand the impacts of climate change.

“We’re looking at areas of West High School, and we’re going to try to incorporate prairie space into the cross-country course,” he said. “The older students at the high schools also want to go out and participate in the work we’re doing.”

Iowa City schools facilities director Jeff Barnes presented to the school board on Sept. 27 to present the successful use of natural lands throughout Johnson County.

“Right now, we have athletic fields in agreement with Coralville and North Liberty youth leagues, we host various [baseball] camps, movie nights on the football scoreboards, and playgrounds, picnicking, and sledding,” he said.

The department of facilities also oversees outdoor physical education classes as well as curriculum science projects in the prairies, Barnes said.

RELATED: Iowa City Community School District announces new volunteer initiative to support students

The prairie initiative program, which started in 2013, reduced carbon dioxide reduction, improved outdoor learning environments, and decreased mowing times.

Iowa City school board member Jayne Finch voiced her approval for the prairie initiatives at the Sept. 27 meeting.

“I had no idea that there was this much involved,” she said. “I love the fact that you have students involved with the Weber project and with planting the seeds.”

Finch was particularly excited about the cross-country prairie initiative at Iowa City West High School.

“The idea with the cross-country track and the prairie together, that would be just amazing,” she said. “I’m happy to hear that this is something we’re going to work on in the future.”

With new prairie projects, Grimm said he wants to involve teachers and students.

“Modern education is looking not just in the classroom, but looking outside the classroom getting students outdoors, and kind of more familiar with their environment,” she said.

Students at Weber Elementary School will have the opportunity to plant seeds for the prairies in early November.

“The students enjoyed planting last school year, and we look forward to bringing it back in a few short weeks,” she said.