Columbia Public Schools Foundation gives $100,000 to Boone County Nature School

The Boone County Nature School has another $100,000 to work with because of a donation from the Columbia Public Schools Foundation.

Officials with the foundation and the school district gathered Monday at the nature school to announce the donation.

Students from Gentry Middle School were at the property, participating in archery, fishing, kayaking and canoeing.

The foundation began thinking about a donation to the nature school in fall 2014, when it was initially an idea that would serve a portion of students in Columbia Public Schools, said foundation member Sally Silvers.

That partnership with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources didn't advance, but the idea of a nature school serving all fifth graders in Boone County was brought back in a partnership with the Missouri Department of Conservation.

The foundation initially planned to donate $50,000, but the group held on to the money after it was first proposed and it grew to $79,000, Silvers said.

"What we also decided was why not round up to $100,000," Silvers said.

The money can be used for furnishings in the school or for whatever purpose it's needed for, said foundation member Jan Mees, a former member of the Columbia Board of Education who promoted the idea from its beginning.

CPS Superintendent Brian Yearwood and former Superintendent Peter Stiepleman, who raised private funds for the nature school, were on hand for the event. When photos were taken, Stiepleman said he would stand by Mees, whom he called the originator of the project. Mees, in turn, said Stiepleman was the person who executed it.

"We're just excited that we're off and running now," said foundation President Cindy Mustard.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the location was held in October. The school board last month approved a financing plan for its $2 million commitment to construction of the nature school building.

The Missouri Department of Conservation gave $1 million for building design and land development, while $1.5 million is from community fundraising.

The project benefited from the donation of 207 acres adjacent to the Three Creeks Conservation Area off Highway 63 donated by the late former Columbia Daily Tribune publisher Hank Waters and his wife, Vicki Russell. The property was valued at $3.5 million.

An 8,230-square-foot school building is planned for the property, with full nature school programming beginning in 2023-24.

The Gentry students enjoying the area on Monday was evidence of the good things yet to come, said Mike Szydlowski, CPS science coordinator.

"This is going to be historic," said Szydlowski, who has announced plans to resign as science coordinator at the end of the school year while returning to teaching and leaving a door open for a role at the nature school.

"This is only going to get better and better," Szydlowski said.

Melanie Manning, seventh-grade science teacher at Gentry, instructed students on proper kayaking and canoeing techniques and safety, including the tricky procedure of getting the boats into and out of the water.

Elsewhere, Wyatt Riffle, 12, a Gentry sixth grader, had just successfully cast his fishing line into the pond.

Asked about his favorite thing about being there, he responded: "catching fish."

Had he caught any?

"Not yet," he said.

Roger McKinney is the education reporter for the Tribune. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com or 573-815-1719. He's on Twitter at @rmckinney9.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: CPS Foundation donates $100,000 to Boone County Nature School