Nestled on 50 acres in the Payette National Forest not far from Yellow Pine, Idaho, lies Zena Creek Ranch. The property features 12 brightly painted cabins, a central lodge and shops filled with tools and machinery. Zena Creek ripples past, framed by tall pines.
For the past two summers, Boise State’s School of Public Service, School of the Environment and College of Engineering have led a week-long field school where students live, learn and work. The ranch is an outdoor classroom for students to learn first-hand about energy, water use and environmental stewardship in rural Idaho. In 2024, for example, students cleared a pond to enable healthy water flow and studied the best placement options for solar panels. During the inaugural 2023 field school, students explored the hydrologic cycle by measuring soil moisture and streamflow. They learned about the effect of wildfires on the local terrain through guest speakers and demonstrations of the fire cycle.
“I think being able to work with people across different disciplines and think about these complex problems that can’t be solved by a single set of individuals is important,” said Stephanie Lenhart, director of the field school and a senior research associate in the Energy Policy Institute in the School of Public Service. “The field school helps students gain the skills to be open to other ways of framing problems and thinking about solutions.”
Maggie Larson, an environmental studies and communications major from Maple Lake, Minnesota, attended the inaugural field school in 2023. She considers the experience a highlight of her college career.
“Zena Creek teaches us how to take what we learn in the classroom and apply it to real-world situations,” she said. Throughout the week, students explored weather and its relationship to fire. They studied water systems and alternative energy before tackling a final project that put those lessons into practice on the ranch.
For Larson, the experience was especially valuable as she prepares for a career in law. “I want to understand how policies and decisions play out in the real world,” she said.
Looking ahead, program staff and students are eager to expand hands-on learning into areas like wildlife restoration, further deepening their connection to the land.
By Lainey Rehkemper