Whiskeytown Environmental School is closer to its eventual reopening with a donation from Redding School District of $100,000, and a One Million allocation promised in the state budget approved at the end of the legislative session. The investments are seen not only for their monetary value but as support for the outdoor science education that the camp represents. For nearly 50 years the campus at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area had hosted almost every 6th or 5th grade public school student in Shasta County for five days of learning, hiking, creating and living together in cabins. More than 150,000 students experienced the camp until the Carr Fire devastated the area. Seven cabins were destroyed and the hillside above was too destabilized to allow further use of the camp. Hazard trees were removed by the Park Service and a lot of planning has been done by the non-profit Whiskeytown Environmental School Community. The organization has been raising funds for rebuilding, with a goal of $7.5 Million that’ll be matched by the Federal Government. They’re well on their way, with this latest funding bringing the total to more than $7 Million pledged. More can be learned at wescommunity.org.
-Steve Gibson