Even without Elks Center, MSU still using Rasmussen Woods to teach

Mark Fischenich, The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.
·2 min read

Sep. 11—MANKATO — Students will continue to learn in Minnesota State University's largest classroom for at least another five years under an agreement between MSU and the city of Mankato.

The 150-acre Rasmussen Woods Nature Area, which has been used for a variety of MSU classes over the years, will continue to host university students through 2028 under a contract extension approved by the City Council.

Previous agreements between the university and the city in 2015 and 2017 allowed classes to be centered at the Elks Nature Center in Rasmussen Woods, which is just down the Stadium Road hill from campus. The City Council three years ago voted to demolish the flood-prone nature center, but MSU still sees the park as a nice learning environment, said professor Jonathan Hicks, chairman of MSU's Department of Recreation and Parks Leadership Studies.

"Even in the absence of a formal Nature Center, parks like Rasmussen Woods have the potential to provide seemingly endless experiential learning opportunities," Hicks said.

Some of the classes using the park in coming years will be Methods of Interpretation, Park Planning, Experiential Education in Outdoor Settings, and Techniques in Cultural and Natural Resource Management.

The department has a long history of working with the city, Hicks said.

"Rasmussen Woods in particular, being near to campus, provides unique and valuable educational opportunities for our students who graduate from the program and move on to careers as park rangers, park planners, event planners, and environmental educators, to name a few," he said.

"Having this relationship with the city of Mankato provides our students an early start in preparation for those careers and hands-on experience that simply cannot be reproduced in a classroom."

Although MSU won't make a monetary contribution under the contract that extends through the 2027-2028 academic year, the students in the Recreation and Parks Leadership Studies program will give back through restoration and cleanup activities, propagation of native and pollinator-friendly plants, and removal of invasive species.

And they'll learn by exploring how the park is used and how it might be better used.

"From a teaching standpoint, I look at every park and public space as an opportunity to consider the ways it positively contributes to the community, how it can be improved, and what plans decisionmakers can make to solidify and enhance future opportunities in those spaces," Hicks said.