The Washington State Legislature is providing Kalama School District with $1.15 million to develop a natural resources learning facility on district-owned forested property east of Chinook Stadium.
Funds to design and plan the project are included in this year’s $1.3 billion supplemental capital budget, secured in collaboration with Cascadia Technical Academy, Southwest Washington’s cooperative skill center for career and technical education (CTE).
In addition to increasing outdoor learning opportunities for Kalama students at all grade levels, the new facility will double as a satellite location for Cascadia Tech and its natural resources program, which will serve enrolled high school juniors and seniors from Castle Rock, Kelso, La Center, Longview, Ridgefield, and of course, Kalama.
“As a district, we’ve been looking for ways to enhance outdoor education on our campus-adjacent property for several years,” said Jennifer McCallum, interim superintendent for Kalama School District. “We already utilize the property for things like nature walks with elementary students, and to access our recently-installed ropes course, but we know that acreage remains underutilized.”
By partnering with Cascadia Technical Academy, the district was able to vie for funding that would have otherwise been out of reach. The capital budget, approved by lawmakers in early March and signed by Governor Inslee two weeks ago, includes approximately $65 million to support skill center projects across the state.
“We’re still early in the planning process, but we’re really excited about this project and what it promises to bring to our community and the surrounding area,” said Heidi Bunker, principal of Kalama High School. “From new course offerings and classroom activities, to expanded career pathways and dual-credit opportunities, the benefits to students are truly wide-ranging.”
A conceptual rendering of the facility, which would be owned by the district, depicts a building with flexible classroom and lab spaces, as well as technology stations to support heavy equipment simulations.
Shaped by industry needs, CTE students from Kalama High School and juniors and seniors enrolled at Cascadia Tech would be able to use the facility to engage in real-world forestry-related lessons such as harvesting practices, data input and analysis, mapping, silviculture and ecology.
“Our CTE Advisory Committee has been working with representatives from the forestry and natural resources industry for many years,” said Cory Torppa, director of Kalama School District’s CTE program. “I'm very excited that we are going to be able to teach local high school students many of the relevant skills that are in high demand in both forestry and natural resource management. I'm also very excited to be able to offer more real-world, hands-on STEM education opportunities for Kalama students in our own backyard. I can't wait to see this project come together."
The district anticipates issuing requests for proposals for the project later this year.
Facility rendering provided by SAJ Architecture