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Washburn presentation traces school‑forest history and urges preservation
Summary
A presenter told the Washburn School Board the Washburn School Forest dates to mid‑20th century donations and volunteer effort, highlighted partnerships with UW–Stevens Point and the DNR, and urged steps to preserve access and management for student programming.
A presenter gave a spotlight presentation on the Washburn School Forest, tracing its origins to early Wisconsin school‑forest legislation and decades of volunteer stewardship. The presenter said the district’s parcel was donated in 1958 and later registered with UW–Stevens Point; community volunteers and Department of Natural Resources staff helped build trails, a shelter and outdoor classrooms used by multiple grade levels.
The presentation summarized key developments: timber sales that helped fund forest activities, the 1996 completion of a shelter supported by memorial funds, installation of educational signs and wildlife houses, and recent accessibility improvements funded by a donor. The presenter also described recurring classroom uses — maple‑syrup lessons, haiku writing, outdoor science instruction and collaborative lessons run by college students and local teachers — and cited UW–Stevens Point resources and DNR forester support as ongoing assets for management planning.
Board members and attendees praised the presentation and discussed next steps. The presenter proposed conducting a standard forestry cruise on remaining stands to inform management choices that balance educational value and economic feasibility and proposed sharing the material with staff and the district website. Administrator and board members asked about making parts of the presentation publicly available and using short, shareable clips to promote volunteer engagement.
The presenter said the school forest ‘‘provides access to a local DNR forester who can provide management services for the property’’ and emphasized volunteer contributions over decades. Board members agreed to use the material for onboarding and to explore ways to preserve the forest’s role in curriculum and community activities.
The board did not take a formal vote on policy changes related to the forest during this meeting; the presentation concluded with an agreement to integrate the resource into staff onboarding and continued collaboration with DNR and community volunteers.
