Pavilion planned to increase learning on Whitefish Trail
While orchestrating a high school field trip on the Whitefish Trail this past spring, I was amazed by the abundance of learning opportunities within a short walk from the trailhead.
We spent time learning about forest health and management, fitness and trail maintenance. As we were discussing the benefits of snags for wildlife habitat, a small pygmy owl poked its head out of a nesting cavity to the awe of students and teachers alike.
Being in the outdoors regularly offers opportunities for these kinds of teachable moments and the Whitefish Trail presents a unique educational opportunity: a community asset that provides a critical link between our town and our natural lands.
Whitefish Legacy Partners and Whitefish Parks and Recreation are proposing to build an open-air learning pavilion which will offer an incredible outdoor classroom in an inspiring learning environment and will provide a gathering place on the Whitefish Trail to serve the entire Whitefish community.
This community project will endow the Whitefish Trail with an enriching staging ground for school groups, volunteers, and the general public. The learning pavilion will serve as a gateway for community conservation and recreation activities, will provide a gathering place to focus education and stewardship efforts, and will offer students of all ages an outdoor learning site.
The open-air pavilion will also be available for broad community use through the city.
With seed money from the Whitefish Community Foundation and a major commitment from the Rotary Club of Whitefish in the form of cash, in-kind materials, and volunteer efforts, preliminary plans are underway and we are actively raising funds to construct the pavilion.
A final refined proposal will be formally submitted to the DNRC for approval this winter and we anticipate a Whitefish Trail Learning Pavilion Grand Opening in the summer 2014.
The pavilion will be constructed within a half mile of our most prominent trailhead at Lion Mountain and will be the starting point of the WT Interpretive Trail. Whitefish Legacy Partners will be working with local schools, the University of Montana, and other education partners to develop the curriculums, design the interpretive trail, and fundraise for this unique educational opportunity.
The Whitefish Trail provides a great opportunity to create an incredible learning pavilion to interact, gather, and be inspired by the natural lands surrounding our community.
It’s ON…Education on the Whitefish Trail!