A new trail and arboretum on the West Mifflin Area High School complex was built for wellness, athletics — and some education, too.
School district officials unveiled the T’s Trail and Titan Arboretum last week, culminating a 14-month process. The school district transformed what was an unused hillside on school district property into the trails.
The project began when Robert Boyle, the district’s chief of police, noticed the outlines of trails, created years ago but now overgrown, said Assistant Superintendent Jeff Solomon.
“I said, ‘Well, let’s try to figure out something we can do with something we already have,’ ” Solomon said. “We wanted to give the kids the opportunity to learn something in a nontraditional way.”
The top trail is called “T’s Trail,” named after West Mifflin’s Titan mascot.
Signage along the path, made by students, labeled native trees. The trail has more than 25 species of native trees. Through a partnership with Tree Pittsburgh, more than 250 trees were planted, Solomon said.
As part of the educational purpose, there are QR codes along the trail for people to scan and learn more about each species. In addition, the trail is dotted with QR codes that form an interactive storywalk.
“T, our mascot, goes through some trials and tribulations that deal with reading and mathematics,” Solomon said. “Once a student completes the task, in the end, they can take a selfie and earn a certificate.”
The trail also has sensory stations such as a touch-and-feel wall with different textures, a kaleidoscope and pebble harp to make music.
“We want to be all inclusive,” Solomon said. “We want everybody to enjoy and to learn. This is a great thing for our special needs students and our younger students.”
Older students will use the trail to connect classroom learning to environmental science, Solomon said. The West Mifflin Air Force JROTC designed three fitness stations throughout T’s trail.
To ensure public safety, the trail uses “What3word.” The tool divides the world into 10-foot squares, assigning each a unique three-word address to help emergency services pinpoint someone’s exact location.
West Mifflin officials hope to use the athletic trail as a home course for cross country meets and to build that program.
The trails also will benefit the community, Solomon said.
“West Mifflin has a long history of walkers around the football stadium or the school,” Solomon said. “This gives them another opportunity to walk through nature and enjoy, see some beautiful things along the way and maybe run into a deer or two.”
In addition to Tree Pittsburgh, the West Mifflin Community Foundation and Middle School Green Team supported the project.