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EDUCATION POUDRE LEARNING CENTER By Lori Ozzello 'THIS IS JUST A PRETTY PLACE' 0 nce a listener hears the whole story, it's difficult to de- termine exactly when Ray Tschillard's dream to build the Poudre Learning Center was born. It could have been when he was a boy and he and his dad explored the rivers and woods of Iowa. Or maybe when they canoed on the Mississippi. Then again, the tiniest beginnings may have been when Tschillard, with a brand new geology degree and an undying inter- est in water and rivers, moved to Colorado. He was looking for a job. There in the Rocky Mountain News, side by side, were two ads, one for a geologist and one for a teacher at University Lab School. It was one of those two- roads - diverged moments. What he chose instead is making IIII a difference. ' The dream for an interdisciplinary education center for all ages took shape ;E during years of teaching and field trips to the Poudre River. "I took a group of kids out to the river once, explained all about the geology, spent all day," recalled Tschillard. At the end, I asked, `What do you see ?' One of the guys looked around and said, `This is just a pretty place.' You can't forget that. You have to look at the whole picture." OVER THE PAST 15 YEARS OR SO, DESPITE SETBACKS AND OBSTACLES, WINDOWS OF OPPORTUNITY OPENED UNEXPECTEDLY FOR THE CENTER. As construction on the Poudre Trail began in the early 1990s, Tschillard and a friend, contractor Brett Hall, wondered what they could do to maintain support for the trail. They decided a public education or visitor center might be the thing. "We started looking for places along the river," Tschillard said. It abounded with historical sites, including Benjamin Eaton's homestead. Hall's family came up with the solution. "They had 65 acres near 83rd Avenue in Greeley they were going to mine for gravel," Tschillard said. "They'd been taking scout troops out there for years for field trips. They signed it over. We formed the Poudre Trail Education Board in 1993." Tschillard, teachers, University of Northern Colorado pro- fessors and others started using the area. With the river running through it and a lake on site, they could literally teach anything from art to zoology. The riverside site had possibilities, and about 2,000 visitors a year, but it had its limits. Because there were no bathrooms, 121 WATERNEWS APRIL 2005 elementary schools generally stayed away. Tschillard and the center's supporters wanted more. The fledgling board visited education centers across the United States. The formula for success: They had to have the support of local K -12 school districts and be a part of the sys- tem. Tschillard and his group sold the idea to District 6 Superintendent Tony Pariso a month after he'd taken the Greeley job. Pariso enlisted the Windsor, Eaton and the Johnstown - Milliken superintendents. They wanted bricks and mortar. Initially, the group thought it could save a historic building, Hazelton School, bound for demolition, and move it to the site. When that didn't happen, they took it apart and stored the bricks and hardwood floors. The dream stalled. But not for long. "In 18 months we went from dead in the water to a building," Tschillard explained. Greeley's four Rotary chapters were looking for a special project. They chose the Photo by Brian Werner learning center. A bevy of professionals and businesses anted up, donating time, money, expertise and ma- terials. The list looks like a who's who list of northern Colorado water, commerce and politics. And those bricks? They're part of a brand new 3,000- square foot building that looks a whole lot like the old Hazelton School, complete with a bell tower. It opens officially May 11. "We hoped to raise $630,000. We're over $800,000," Tsch- illard said. "Harold Evans put the pieces together. Bob Shreve, an architect, designed it. With the help of (columnist) Mike Peters at the Tribune, we even found the original bell." The learning center's board — which includes the four school superintendents plus Rotary, UNC and community represen- tatives — is ready to launch the second phase of construction. Trails, a barn, a boardwalk, a dock and amphitheaters are planned. That's not all. A whole raft of development — curricula, personnel, scheduling, more site work and eventually evening seminars — is also under way. Said Tschillard: "We're trying to make it part of what teach- ers and students are doing in the classroom. You can't study just geology or hydrology. You have to study the whole system — history, economics, geology.... That's where the dream started. "We're not done yet." FOR DETAILS about the Poudre Learning Center, contact Ray Tsch- illard, Science /Social Studies Coordinator at Greeley -Evans School District 6, (970)348 -6278 or rtschillard@greeleyschools.org