WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — The completion of the first part of a major renovation at the Wausau School Forest was celebrated Thursday afternoon.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held out at the Wausau School Forest Thursday afternoon to project supporters. The groundbreaking is for the Wausau School Foundation’s capital campaign to build a new Environmental Learning Center. The project hit its first milestone this week by completing phase one, the infrastructure phase according to Wausau School District Superintendent Dr. Keith Hilts.
“Phase one is the infrastructure. That’s what we’re celebrating today. So power’s been run out here. Fiber’s been run out here. So now we’re ready to start adding the communication lines, the powerlines, technology infrastructure.”
With phase one of the project complete, the district now waits on the result of their referendum in November. One-fourth of the funding for the project has been raised by the School Foundation but the rest of the funding is currently budgeted in the proposal according to Hilts. “It’s a partnership between the school district and the Wausau School Foundation. And we also have a question on the November 3rd referendum that would support part of this project as well. To kind of finish the funding for the project, which then could actually start next summer if that were to pass.”
The Environmental Learning Center would be a two-story building that has space for group learning, gathering spaces, forest staff offices, a nurse’s office, indoor bathrooms, and multiple classrooms. School Forest Environmental Education Coordinator Chris Nelson says the new learning center would provide several benefits to kids education out at the school forest. Some of which include a space to learn during inclement or cold weather and new technology features.
“So you know we could explore on a nature hike. Maybe there are some things we find that the kids don’t know about. We can look them up right there and then and do some learning in that aspect.”
The new building would also let the district open up the school forest to more of the surrounding community. Along with the Wausau School District, 5 other school systems use the Wausau School Forest to conduct outdoor learning. With an expanded learning space in the environmental learning center, the forest could accommodate school districts from around Wisconsin.
The next phase of the Environmental Learning Center project is dependant upon the November 3rd referendum from the school district. If the referendum passes construction on the new center would begin next summer. If the referendum fails the district and foundation would need to find a different way to fund the school forest project, most likely through a modified referendum in April.
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