Outdoor Classroom Project Updates
Everything continues to come together nicely for our Outdoor Classroom Project:
design is finalized!
development permit is complete!
construction tenders have been received!
'shovels in the ground' ... anticipated for July 2020 (or earlier)
Thank you to everyone who donated towards this project. Once finished, it will improve accessibility of the site, increase overall functionality and capacity of the space, reduce maintenance costs, and will create a beautiful community meeting spot in a tranquil location.
We are pleased to be featured in the Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwest Alberta’s Giving Together Spring 2020 edition! You can read the article directly from the Community Foundation’s website, or you can enjoy the except below.
Helen Schuler Nature Centre: A New Look at Life Outdoors
“Helen Schuler Nature Centre in Lethbridge’s Oldman River valley is a much-loved local destination that has been enjoyed by residents and tourists for decades. If you grew up in or around Lethbridge during the ‘90s, a school field trip to the river bottom was practically a rite of passage. While a sizeable portion of its 52,000-plus annual attendance comes from visiting students, the Nature Centre offers programming and events for the ecologically curious of all ages.
Opened in 1982, the facility has seen its share of upgrades and renovations over the years, primarily to the building itself. Come later this year, however, those renovations head outside, to tackle the Nature Centre’s Outdoor Amphitheatre. “We’re replacing a well used, well loved community facility,” says Curtis Goodman, Resource Development Coordinator for the Helen Schuler Nature Centre. “The idea that most
Nature Centre programs start or end at that space means that it is used by thousands of people every single year.” These programs include shoreline cleanups, discovery walks, and the ever-popular Junior Naturalists initiative. The existing amphitheatre has been around since the Nature Centre opened, enduring decades of welcome visitors and less welcome weather-related events, including the 1995 flood, and is in need of an upgrade. “If you’re lucky enough to enjoy a program in that space, you know the comfort is less than ideal,” says Goodman.
In the spring of 2019, the Nature Centre applied successfully to the Community Foundation’s Community Priorities Granting Program, receiving $15,000, of which $3,500 was contributed by the Lethbridge Auto Dealers Association. Goodman says the project is more than just a straightforward renovation. “Improving the space is one way to describe it,” says Goodman. “The big push we’re doing is ensuring accessibility. We want this to be a place for everybody, where everybody feels comfortable to connect with our river valley. The existing space has some accessibility challenges that make it difficult for some people to navigate.” Goodman believes not only in protecting and preserving local biodiversity, but also in educating local residents about it. “Right here, in our community’s backyard, is a place that’s teeming with life,” he says. “Within however many steps of your front door, you can be somewhere both visually dramatic and stunning, and fascinating in terms of the life you’ll see.”
Once completed, the space will help Nature Centre employees and volunteers deliver the same high quality educational programming to a greater number of people, nurturing an appreciation for the local wildlife and environment. “Whether or not you are on a program, you will still be able to go through this space and learn something really cool,” says Goodman. In fact, research indicates that outdoor learning environments have a positive effect on engagement and comprehension, outcomes that Goodman hopes the new amphitheatre will enable him to propagate. “We know the value that [the amphitheatre] provides in terms of getting participants zoned into what we’re doing,” he says. “Now, it’s just a matter of bringing this space in to the 21st century for everybody’s benefit, for meaningful inquiry- based learning and cross-curricular understanding of subject matter. That’s what we’re hoping we can demonstrate to local educators, so they can apply that in their own schools.”
“We want this to be a place for everybody, where everybody feels comfortable to connect with our river valley.”
Construction on the new amphitheatre is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2020. “We estimate that, over the next 20 years, there will be at least a million people that will come through the area,” says Goodman. These visitors will be engaging in a unique form of self-care afforded to them by immersion in natural environments, which increases overall well-being. “The more that we can think and envision spaces that help us to connect with our natural heritage, the more we can meet those basic needs that we, as humans, require to be happy, functioning people.”
A popular convention for outdoor enthusiasts is to leave a place in better condition than it was found. Through environmental stewardship, educational programs, and natural amenities, the Helen Schuler Nature Centre endeavours to do the same for its visitors, its community, and the ecosystem that houses both, protecting and preserving Lethbridge’s river valley for generations to come.”
- Article from Giving Together 2020 by Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwest Alberta