APPLETON, Wis. — Fox Valley Technical College has expanded its hands-on learning opportunities with the addition of a 160-acre natural resources property near Hortonville, approximately 15 miles from the college’s Appleton campus.
The land, donated to the Fox Valley Technical College Foundation in January, will serve as an outdoor classroom for students in the college’s Natural Resources Technician and Wildland Firefighter programs. The donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, requested the site be named Z Place and expressed a desire for the land to be preserved and used as a living classroom focused on conservation and natural resource management.
“This large contiguous block of habitat contains diverse cover types, which will be ideal for hosting lab fieldwork for a wide variety of natural resources and wildland fire courses,” says Paul Groell, Natural Resources department chair at Fox Valley Technical College. “There are forested areas, prairie, shrub-carr, wooded wetlands, multiple ponds and a perennial stream. It’s uniquely suited for immersive, hands-on learning experiences.”
Students began using the property for select field-based classes during the spring 2026 semester. Peyton Schroeder, a student in the Natural Resources program, said the site enhances the learning experience by consolidating multiple ecosystems into a single location.
“While the college already provides strong opportunities for hands-on learning at different locations, this property brings everything together in one place,” Schroeder said. “That makes learning more connected and efficient.”
The college is currently developing a comprehensive management plan to guide both short-term and long-term use of the site. Future instructional opportunities may include forestry, wildlife and fisheries management, surveying, water quality, soil conservation, recreational facilities maintenance, plant identification, horticulture and wildland fire. The site may also support student-led habitat restoration projects, from planning through implementation.
In the future, Fox Valley Technical College may consider relocating the Natural Resources and Wildland Fire programs to the site on a full-time basis.
For more information about Fox Valley Technical College’s Natural Resources programs, visit www.fvtc.edu/naturalresources
