30 Nebraskaland • July 2025
Story by Jennifer Ruyle, Outdoor Education Specialist
Photos by Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley
Homeschool
Hikes at
Schramm
very third Wednesday and
Thursday of each month —
except in June and July — a
group of homeschool families
assemble in the lobby of Schramm
Education Center near Gretna to
prepare for a guided hike. Led by a
Nebraska Game and Parks naturalist,
the Homeschool Hikes program
welcomes a diff erent group each week.
Participants might be just two moms
and their kids or a crowd of 80 people.
The hike invites strangers and
friends to meet. Kids who know each
other hang back and walk together.
Babies in chest carriers come along,
too. It seems like there's always one
curious 6-year-old who fi nds their
way to the front of the pack to hike
alongside the naturalist, chatting
about their favorite animal or their dog
or their weekend plans.
In fall and winter, we may hike in
rain, single-digit temperatures or
several inches of snow. Sometimes we
are blessed with the most gorgeous
"false-spring" with clear blue skies
and 70-degree days. Unsurprisingly,
our spring and summer programs
usually draw big groups, when the park
is green and in full bloom. Whatever
the conditions, we hit the trails for
adventure and fun.
The program off ers opportunities for
learning about local plants, animals,
ecosystems and natural phenomena.
Families who attend throughout the
year are able to witness and appreciate
the phenology of the park, from the
fi rst snow geese that pass overhead
in February to the last monarchs that
E
Naturalist Alena Carlson points at a bird during a Homeschool Hike at Schramm
Park State Recreation Area.
