HANSVILLE — For the better part of a decade, Wolfle Elementary teacher Sue Ahrens has been taking her students into the woods behind the school, giving them a hands-on lesson in earth science better than any textbook ever could.

“It’s been the difference between reading about an ecosystem and actually seeing it,” said Ahrens of the first-hand nature study. “To read about it, yeah, you might take it in, but when you go out you can see it, smell it, it means so much more.”

Her dedication to preserving the experience for future classrooms full of students has left her with a garage full of everything from tools and toys to clothes and kitchenware.

Ahrens’ plan is a garage sale similar to the ongoing Hansville Rummage Sale — one just down the street — to raise enough money to revitalize the trail, and possibly add a few features that will make it an outdoor classroom environment that can be enjoyed by students, teachers and the community as well.

Right now, the short trail, which includes a loop and a clearing for an outdoor classroom, has become too overgrown even for a simple hike. Backed by the school’s PTA, if Ahrens can put some financial backing toward a clearing project, the trail won’t just be restored, it’ll be vastly improved.

“It’s so unbelievably cool to have,” said PTA vice-president Mickey Hall of the trail. “And it’s good for the kids to get out there. They need to know how things grow.”

Another reason the trail needs a revamp is because presently, there’s no way for students with certain disabilities to traverse it. The goal is to lay down reconstituted concrete which, “packs down like a sidewalk,” Hall said, and will allow for a hike by almost any student.

“At this point they’ve never been able to go out there,” Hall said of certain special needs students. “We’re going to widen the trail so they can experience it as well.”

Should the money be raised, benches will also be added to replace aging ones that have all but rotted away, Ahrens said.

More than anything, the trail needs basic maintenance, having become too overgrown to be used for educational purposes. But with financial help from the sale combined with a little Wolfle sweat equity, and Ahrens’ classes — as well as other classrooms and the community at large — will enjoy a trail for years to come.

“Any able-bodied person is going to have a tough time getting out there,” Ahrens said. “But I’m excited about getting this trail to be more useful again for everyone.”