The Center for Sustainability and Entrepreneurship (CSE) — a state of the art innovative educational center and the first net-zero facility in Montana — is scheduled to open to coincide with Earth Day 2018, on Saturday, April 21st. The grand opening of the CSE and the launch of the Whitefish Climate Action Plan will complement the family-friendly Flathead Earth Day Festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Whitefish High School sponsored by the Citizens for a Better Flathead. A ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening will take place at noon.
To prepare for the grand opening, dozens of community volunteers and students came together for a community day of action on April 14 to build garden beds and fill them, hugelkultur-style, with cardboard, wood, leaves, compost and topsoil.
The CSE is managed by the Whitefish School District, providing applied learning experiences for K-12 students in energy, agriculture, forestry, natural resources, and entrepreneurship. The fundamental objective of the program is to prepare Whitefish students for college, career, and citizenship by immersing them in interdependent, real-world programs.
The CSE started with the vision of ambitious students in the Free Flow Club, and was supported by the club leader’s science teacher and English teacher. The idea evolved from an existing “Farm to School” garden and the need for a greenhouse, to the $2.65 million dollar project, funded mostly through community philanthropy along with some local, regional, and national grants.
Originally, the Whitefish Lions Club, in collaboration with school district Food Services Director, established a garden to teach students how to grow food to serve in the school cafeteria. Free Flow Club students worked with local philanthropist Richard Atkinson through the “Older Man Walking” campaign to raise the initial $70,000 in funding for the “greenhouse” idea.
“The evolution of the Center for Sustainability and Entrepreneurship is unique,” said superintendent, Dr. Heather Davis Schmidt. “Members of the community saw a need to partner with the school district to expand experiential education, providing this amazing opportunity through the Whitefish Community Foundation Donor Advised Fund. Because of their generous support, the efforts of students to build a greenhouse has grown into the state’s first net zero facility, including classrooms, laboratories, a greenhouse, energy systems, production gardens, orchards, and an experimental forest.”
The curriculum for the CSE is being developed for kindergarten through high school, so students can engage at developmentally appropriate depth and complexity on vast experiential learning opportunities.
“The net zero facility will be the living model for all the work that is done inside the facility,” says Davis Schmidt. “It’s such an incredible opportunity for our students to learn about our land, water, soil, plants and animals and how the management of our natural resources affects the quality of life for present and future generations. “
The building site is adjacent to the west wing of the high school and includes outdoor space for programming. The grounds contain native grass meadows, a compost area, discussion areas, a working yard, and a production farm area for berries, fruit, edible shrubs, perennials, and herbs. Future plans include an experimental forest and outdoor classroom.
The CSE is the first school district in the U.S. to partner with Buddy Ohm, a new technology providing real time assessment and data monitoring of all facilities, to save resources and costs in the existing schools, and allow the new Center for Sustainably and Entrepreneurship to achieve net zero facility status by utilizing this technology for managing efficiency faster and more reliably than ever before.
The CSE was recently recognized with a Mountain West Leadership Award from the US Green Building Council in March 2018 and Whitefish High School, Whitefish Middle School, and Muldown Elementary School were all recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as Green Ribbon Schools in 2017.
In addition, the Whitefish Climate Action Plan, a partnership between the City of Whitefish and the Whitefish School District, will be officially launched at the grand opening (http://www.cityofwhitefish.or