Mother Nature's classroom
Courtesy photo Coeur d’Alene Bible Church volunteers Grace Moehring and Clay Finney install pavers at the new amphitheater/outdoor classroom next to the Harbor Center and the Centennial Trail in Coeur d’Alene last Sunday. The new space will be used for education and recreation and is open for student and community use. More features will be added in the coming weeks and months.
Volunteers from Coeur d’Alene Bible Church assist University of Idaho Extension area water educator Jim Ekins (orange shirt) with setting pavers and clearing land at the new amphitheater/outdoor classroom near Harbor Center in Coeur d’Alene during a volunteer service day Sunday, Aug. 26. (Courtesy photo)
By DEVIN WEEKS
Staff Writer
COEUR d’ALENE — A new outdoor classroom and amphitheater near Harbor Center is coming along, thanks to the helping hands of Coeur d'Alene Bible Church.
About 20 volunteers from the church joined University of Idaho Extension area water educator Jim Ekins to clear land, beautify space and install pavers during the church's annual Serve CDA service day last Sunday.
"We follow it from the Bible to do good work and to help," said Coeur d'Alene Bible Church member and Serve CDA project lead Spencer Dahl. "It's to show that you can be helpful and do God’s work and help out the community at the same time."
The amphitheater/outdoor classroom, located adjacent to the Spokane River and accessible from the Centennial Trail, has been in the works for a few years and was under construction earlier this year. It’s now a reality because of the efforts of Ekins, grant funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and support from the city of Coeur d'Alene.
Ekins said the land is technically known as a "rain garden" because of a depression in the ground that accepts, absorbs and filters storm water.
"There's really nothing like it in Coeur d'Alene," Ekins said. "There's no outdoor amphitheater where we can get 100 kids together to do some sort of outdoor learning."
The space, which serves as a storm water pollution treatment area as well as a place for experiential learning, has already had some visitors. Ekins said elementary students from Ramsey and Hayden Meadows have taken trips to the area for hands-on education.
"They do a field day at Harbor Center and the wastewater treatment plant because it's right there," Ekins said.
The area is now open for community and student use, but features to come include a shade area with a living roof, a larger stage and cultural elements such as interpretive signs and Coeur d’Alene Tribal history panels.
The project was one of many that about 150 Coeur d'Alene Bible Church volunteers worked on throughout the community for Serve CDA.
"We had quite a lot of groups that went off to different sections and did quite a bit of work throughout the community. It was a blast," Dahl said. "It's all about giving."
Ekins said it has been quite the process to create the volunteer-driven, grant-funded outdoor classroom/amphitheater, but it's something the community has needed.
"This is for the community. It's not mine, it’s the city's. It's there for people to use," he said. "If I’m not teaching there, if you want to have lunch, bicycling along the Centennial Trail and you want to take a break, you’re welcome to use it."
Harbor Center is located at 1031 N. Academic Way in Coeur d'Alene.