Dow-funded 'Discovery Deck' and Little League rollout highlighted at parish meeting

Parish leaders and a Dow representative told the Saint Charles Parish Council on May 4 that a $200,000 project to relocate and rebuild an outdoor classroom — the Dow Discovery Deck — will provide an accessible outdoor learning space at the Spillway Park and Boat Launch for Swamp School and local schools.

"This is going to be a perfect, perfect opportunity for Swamp School," a parish speaker said, noting the classroom will be used for field trips and environmental education. Parish officials said the project relocates an outdoor classroom from a lakefront wetland-watcher site to a more accessible location and will be used by local schools and community groups.

A Dow representative described the collaboration as aligned with the company’s pillars of community partnership, environmental stewardship and STEM learning: "Dow saw the need and said, you know what? This really is in line with what our pillars are," the representative said.

Parks and Recreation staff also announced that Little League baseball and softball will start a new season across the River Parishes, bringing district and state tournament opportunities to local youth and providing Little League coaching tools to strengthen volunteer coaching across sports. Parents, coaches and officials at the meeting praised the program’s structure and outreach.

The parks department promoted the sixth annual Fish Dat Rodeo at the Bonnie Carey Spillways boat launch for May 9, inviting anglers of all ages to compete for prizes; parish staff supplied a website and contact phone number for more information.

Officials said tax dollars and grants do not fully fund such facilities and partnerships with private industry like Dow were instrumental in making the project possible. The transcript did not present a full project budget breakdown beyond the stated $200,000 figure or specify the precise mix of grants, parish funds, or private contributions.