SWFWMD Times Article

New amenities planned for Nature's Classroom

Water officials okayed $904,717 for renovations and new buildings at the 365-acre campus.

By LETITIA STEIN
Published July 16, 2004, St. Petersburg Times

THONOTOSASSA - A few dozen feet from where black vultures roosted at the bank of the Hillsborough River, Karen Johnson pointed to the spot for her next classroom.

"The environmental center goes right through there," she said, motioning to a clearing by several squat animal cages that she would transform into a native plant garden.

Until recently, she did not know whether habitats for the animals would be finished next year at a wooded site near a new birds of prey aviary. Or whether funds would come through for a 5,000-square-foot environmental center to shelter sixth-graders on rainy days.

Even classrooms carved out of nature have back-to-school needs. Construction planned at Nature's Classroom, the county's outdoor education center, recently received a final nod of approval. The Southwest Florida Water Management District's Hillsborough River Basin Board signed off on $904,717 for renovations and new buildings at the 365-acre campus.

"It's kind of the new Nature's Classroom," said Johnson, the onsite coordinator. "With these buildings that the funds will help us to construct, it will push us to the next level."

In the space of a few years, the outdoor classroom's fortunes have turned dramatically. In 1995, budget cuts almost extinguished the 35-year-old outdoor education program.

Then in 2001, the Hillsborough Education Foundation formally kicked off a fundraising drive to renovate and expand the campus. Sixth-graders now spend three days of the school year here, learning about the ecosystem of the Hillsborough River. The center is a partnership of Swiftmud, as the water management district is commonly called; the school district; and the Hillsborough Education Foundation, a nonprofit group.

Now fundraisers are within striking distance of their original $3.6-million goal.

"This is the largest gift we have received," said Mary-Helen Keen, a spokeswoman for the education foundation. "With another few hundred thousand, we can almost be finished."

Already, funds raised have helped to renovate a boat dock, build new restrooms and refurbish a wooden boardwalk. An administrative building also is in the works across from the sheltered picnic tables, where a peacock enjoyed an afternoon strut as staffers celebrated.

"I get goose bumps," said Johnson, her yellow T-shirt muddy from a morning excursion on the Hillsborough River. Having studied at the center as a student, Johnson welcomed last year about 14,000 Hillsborough students to Nature's Classroom.

"It was the best week of school," said Parker Reid, 13, now an eight-grader, who visited Nature's Classroom as a sixth-grader at Wilson Middle. "I liked the boat ride where we went down the Hillsborough River because you got to see all the cool water animals."

Supporters of Nature's Classroom hope the lessons will stick.

"Having them learn about water resources at an early age helps them feel the connection," said Michael Molligan, a Swiftmud spokesman. "People need to learn about water resources."

- Letitia Stein can be reached at 813 661-2443 or lstein@sptimes.com