“Most schools confiscate knives. … At our school we pass them out — even to the kindergarteners!” is the title Sean Nielson gave his Facebook album of photos from the moose butchering that recently took place at Gustavus School.
All the kids, K-12, were involved with the butchering and processing and yes, there were knives, kept sharp by community volunteers who also taught the children about knife sharpening and safety.
“It was great,” said Principal Ann Hilburn. “No accidents, no one cut themselves.”
Instead, there was full day of hands-on learning. The school set up various stations from butchering to grinding to packaging and students found their niche and set to work.
Local artist Kathy Hocker was there to teach the kids nature journaling, and science teacher Eric Hart led them in dissecting the moose’s heart, brain and eyeballs.
The event was brought about by Jessie Soder, the school’s 4th and 5th grade teacher, and aide Karen Platt. For the past couple of years, they’ve been leading the charge for local foods. This is the second year of moose butchering. They’ve also added a school garden and taken the kids fishing, and taught them how to prepare and preserve the fish.
Some of the first crops from the school garden will go toward making moose stew to share with all the community members who helped out with the event.
“I feel like our community really like goes above and beyond,” said Soder. “Our community does everything for the kids. It’s all for the kids and they’re always looking for ways to help the kids. We have a great volunteer force in Gustavus.”
It’s sentiment Hilburn echoed, saying: “Something on that big of a scale for our students … we couldn’t have done it without the community help.”
The rest of the meat will be distributed through other community events and through Gustavus’ Secret Santa program.
“Finding a way for the kids to give back and give back in a really meaningful appreciated way, like providing this moose for people that need it, I think is my favorite part of the whole thing,” Soder said.
Teacher Christina Summers, second from left in the back, watches as her middle school/high school students carve of chunks of moose meat for further processing.
Gustavus Senior Aishu Cozby shows the Gustavus K/1 class what moose brains look, and smell, like on Sept. 29.
A panoramic view of the multipurpose room in the Gustavus School. About 70 students, 10 staff members and a 15 volunteers participating in the butchering of a moose on Sept. 29.
