School board approves outdoor learning center

The Whitefish School Board gave a final nod of approval Aug. 9 to move forward with a state-of-the-art outdoor learning center on the high school campus.

The 6-1 vote came after an hour of debate during which dissenting trustee Marguerite Kaminski raised concerns about approving the project without seeing construction documents or a final design.

“I know construction projects and they can get wild and crazy sometimes,” Kaminski warned. “I just want to be cautious and have checkpoints along the way.”

The so-called Center for Applied Sustainability will feature a greenhouse, energy systems, laboratories, orchards, gardens and an experimental forest. Designed to be a net-zero facility, the center will be powered and heated by geosolar, geothermal and solar energy systems.

Construction costs are to be paid for entirely through private donations, with $1.2 million designated for the facility, another $200,000 for landscaping and $300,000 for phasing in the instructional programming and maintenance. Superintendent Heather Davis Schmidt said an anonymous fundraiser plans to raise the money this summer.

“It’s important [for the philanthropic community] to know that the board and district supports this project,” she said.

She added that the project won’t happen unless the district has a written commitment of private funding to cover all costs.

Still, Kaminski said giving final approval now is like letting “the horse out of the barn.”

With the board’s vote, Whitefish-based Bridgewater Innovative Builders will participate in the construction project. Bridgewater specializes in the sustainable energy systems to be included at the center.

“We’ve got all the right ingredients to make the project ... a highlight in the community,” said Mark Van Evern of Bridgewater. “It’s a great opportunity for the district to provide an enriching environment to the students and community.”

The center is to be located on 3 acres north of the high school entry. Kaminski also questioned if that amount of land was needed and if the center was the best use.

“My concern is that it’s our land and we have to put it to our best use,” Kaminski said. “There will never be more land in Whitefish.”

High school science teacher Eric Sawtelle, who has helped spearhead the project, responded that it’s an appropriate use of the open space.

“It will be utilized well and a valuable experimental space for our students,” he said. “There’s nowhere else for our students to go learn outside.”

Trustee Ruth Harrison added that the center will be used year-round and by students in the entire district.

“I’m trying to imagine what could be a better use, and I really can’t,” she said.

The project calls for the greenhouse and classroom building to be located near the center of the property with the adjacent production farm and orchard running along Pine Avenue. An experimental forest, with a trail running through the center, will wrap the northeast corner of the property. A native grass wet meadow and outdoor classroom are planned for along the southern edge of the area.

Montana Creative is designing the center.

Last week Whitefish City Council OK’d a conditional use permit for the project.