By Gary Ogle
gogle@wbcowqel.com
The scene at the Buckeye Central school campus on Saturday was like that of an old-fashioned barn-raising. But instead of a traditional barn going up, it was a 21st century learning center thanks to volunteers from the Bucyrus GE Lamp Plant.
“At 7:15 (a.m.) the volunteers arrived and immediately went to work,” Buckeye Central middle school science teacher Marianne Williamson said. “It’s awesome to see a dream come to reality.”
That dream, soon to be completed, is an Outdoor Learning Lab with a 960-square-feet pavilion with water, electricity and Internet WiFi as the centerpiece. It began with Williamson’s middle school students who were challenged two years ago to come up with a project that would enhance the new campus.
Those students wrote and received grants from several sources, including the GE Lamp Plant and the GE Foundation, helped develop plans and were in the thick of things again Saturday with the construction phase.
Just beginning her freshman year at Buckeye Central, Victoria Thimmes reflected on what it will be like to study in the new outdoor educational classroom.
“It’s crazy. First we were in the classroom we were just coming up with a proposal and now we’re actually doing it. It’s mind blowing,” Thimmes said, also expressing her gratitude for the involvement and help of GE employees. “It’s going to be really special because when I’m out here, I’m going to be thinking, ‘I helped build this.’ It’s not just going to sit here. It’s going to help us learn and become better students.”
Bucyrus GE Plant Manager Matt Novak has two children in the Buckeye Central School District and was among the number of volunteers who pitched in Saturday. When they arrived, there was a concrete pad in place with a few posts on the perimeter. By late Saturday morning with an afternoon to go, the pavilion had pretty much been framed in.
“It’s great to see. It’s fantastic to see everybody out here doing this. It’s a great team-building experience,” Novak said. “In the previous years we’ve done a lot of Bucyrus (City) Schools. We’re branching out in the county. We’ve got some uniquely talented people.”
Novak noted GE was looking at helping out with other projects at area schools and have already talked about some possibilities at both Colonel Crawford and Wynford.
One of those uniquely talented people Novak referred to was Jim Larsch.
“It makes you proud to work for GE, knowing you are helping with projects for the community,” Larsch said. “We’re all in it together.”
There were no school jackets present Saturday. Larsch was from Mohawk and another volunteer, Bill Collins who is the president of Local 704 at the GE plant, hails from Shelby.
“It needed to get done,” Collins said simply. “When our people need help . . . it’s the way we do it. It’s not the union. That’s what makes us the place we are.”
Williamson said Saturday’s volunteers from GE weren’t the only ones contributing time and labor to the project. She cited the work of students and select teachers on the project and pointed out that earlier in the week, other GE employees built and delivered 12 cedar tables with benches for the pavilion.
“There’s another crew making cedar benches,” Williamson said.
Those benches will be used at observation sites at different points in the 10.5-acre woods on campus that will also be part of the learning lab.
Williamson noted the entire project, from the idea and planning stage, to the funding and building stage have all been a learning experience for her students. And she pointed out – they’re not done.
“The students will watch the animals to determine where to put new trails,” Williamson said. “It will be my students’ responsibility to get funding for feed for the birds.”
GE was not the only company represented Saturday. Jim Wilhelm of Attica Lumber volunteered his time to act as foreman and was busy scrambling over the erected roof trusses to make sure everything was solid and just as it should be before the roof and siding went on.
“I think it’s cool this many showed up,” Wilhelm said, adding that perhaps the toughest part of his task was finding something for all of them to do. “They are doing an awesome job. I’m just trying to keep up with them. They are one heck of a crew, awesome people.”
Besides GE, other partners in the project with Buckeye Central include the Buckeye Central Endowment Fund, North Central Electric’s People Fund, Studer-Obringer Inc., Attica Lumber, Community Foundation for Crawford County, Crawford Park District and Vaughn Industries.
There’s no question the project in its entirety has and will make a real difference in the lives of the Buckeye Central students. In addition to building the Outdoor Learning Lab, the project was also about building a vision.
Thimmes said after the Outdoor Learning Lab, she knows exactly what she wants to do for her senior project which is just a few short years away. Like her teacher, Thimmes has a dream she expects to see become reality.
“I want to build a bridge across the retention pond. I’m going to make it wheel chair accessible,” said Thimmes.
She went on to explain she wanted that project to include its own observation deck and activities for students ranging from kindergarten and first grade all the way up to high schools students in advanced science classes. And that’s not all. She also wants to write a book that identifies all the plants and animal life that can be found in the pond.