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• Northwest Youth Corp <br /> • Nearby Nature <br /> • University of Oregon -Center for Advanced Technology and Education <br /> • Lane Council of Governments <br /> • Army Corp of Engineers <br /> • Cascade Raptor Care Center <br /> • Many community individuals <br /> One of the significant partners that emerged was the 4-J school district. The Rachel Carson <br /> Center for Natural Resources which is currently housed at Churchill High School became the <br /> focus of 4-J's interest in the project. The Rachel Carson program is dedicated to promoting <br /> partnerships with the community that result in a shared commitment to stewardship and a sense <br /> of responsibility to the world. Currently, Rachel Carson students are engaged in the WEW <br /> program conducting studies and contributing significantly to the restoration efforts, including <br /> native seed collection, germination studies, invasive plant removal, water quality monitoring and <br /> many other duties. <br /> The Rachel Carson Center is just one component of the WEW Environmental Education Center <br /> Campus, which also includes outreach classrooms for K-12, classroom space for the Northwest <br /> Youth Corps, an interpretative center for the general public, auditorium, reference library, state <br /> of the art greenhouse and seed storage facilities, wetland laboratory, wetland restoration staff <br /> offices, environmental education and volunteer offices, and a well developed interpretative <br /> trail/boardwalk system. <br /> 3/00 A significant investment has been made by local architectural firm, WBGS and landscape <br /> architecture firm, Rick Satre & Associates, totaling approximately $40,000 and local <br /> design firm Funk and Associates at $6,000. Anon-profit SOI.c.(3) corporation <br /> Willamette Resources and Educational Network (WREN) has been formed to act as a full <br /> fledged partner in the project. <br /> 1/O1 January 2001, a $125,000 Department of Education grant was secured by the City of <br /> Eugene with the help of Representative Peter DeFazio to develop educational materials, <br /> architect models and renderings, construction cost estimate, business plan, interpretative <br /> plan, video and power point presentation to further develop the education center concept. <br /> Local firms have now been engaged by the City of Eugene to provide these deliverables. <br /> 9/01 On September 19, 2001 the 4-J school district reviewed the proposed bond measure to go <br /> before the voters in May, 2002. The Rachel Carson component of the WEW education <br /> center is currently being considered for inclusion at the $2 million funding level. It <br /> would be a part of a total funding package between $65-100 million for new school <br /> construction in the school district. If successful, 4-J school district could realistically be <br /> prepared to construct in the fall of 2004. <br /> <br /> There currently exist some challenges and opportunities to the construction and operation of an <br /> education center for the West Eugene Wetlands Project that functions as a regional asset. The <br /> I <br /> <br />