A program connecting local students to nature is growing with a new facility in College Hill.
Cincinnati Public Schools hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Monday for the Robert Shuman Urban Wilderness Center at Aiken High School.
It will house the Camping and Education Foundation's Urban Wilderness Program, which aims to foster the next generation of environmental stewards by giving kids opportunities to be outside — whether at a summer camp in Minnesota, in a local greenspace or on school grounds.
President and CEO Hugh Haller says a STEM-based boat building project is the core of the program.
“We go into schools and teach kids how to make a handmade canoe,” Haller said. “They honestly don't believe that they can do it. We show up with a bundle of sticks, and two weeks later, they built this beautiful canoe that they actually can take out on the waterways.”
He says for years, program staff have done much of the preparation and woodworking out of a small garage.
The new center will allow the program to expand. It will operate as a woodshop, providing more space and adding to what staff can teach students.
“We will be here five days a week during the school [year] and working with Aiken students and teaching them a lot of the behind-the-scenes skills that they wouldn't normally have exposure to,” Haller said.
Urban Wilderness will host an after-school program available to all CPS students as well.
“It's a wonderful educational pathway to either higher learning, vocational opportunities, or just to create a spark, whether that's working with their hands or getting outside,” Haller said.
The location of the center behind Aiken High School also will benefit the program, Haller says.
“Part of that is just the proximity to Mount Airy Forest,” Haller said. “Aiken is surrounded by about 60 acres of green space, and there's a trail [from the forest] all the way Aiken.”
There’s a farm at Aiken where students grow crops and raise animals.
Construction of the Urban Wilderness Center is expected to be completed by this summer.
It's named after Robert Shuman, who worked at the Camping and Education Foundation and Aiken High School.
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