Idaho Center for Outdoor Education sits on 87 acres owned by the Basin School District in Idaho City, where they bring students for a variety of learning activities in the fall, winter, and spring.
The vision of the ICOE is to encourage students to care about the environment by using a beautiful setting and several partners in a hands-on learning style. Junior Kennedy Smith has never missed an ICOE day during her time in the Basin School District.
"There are so many activities and things you learn from being in the mountains," said Smith. "It’s awesome."
On Thursday, the community had a ribbon-cutting ceremony to introduce a brand new yurt that will be used as a classroom at the Idaho Center for Outdoor Education. It will come in handy, especially during the winter.
This new 30-foot yurt was paid for through a $30,000 grant from the Idaho Women's Charitable Foundation.
"We are just grateful because it would have never happened without that support," said Jaime Pilkerton of the Basin School District. "Once we had the yurt, we had to figure out how we were going to get it up, do the ground prep, and the pad. It has been a community-wide effort."
A number of donors came together to help raise funds for the project. Elite Builders and the Callahan family volunteered their time to build the foundation, and then they went to work constructing the yurt with the help of students in the district's construction and trades class taught by Tom Standerwick.
"My class and I were drilling holes in the concrete, and after that we were putting up the walls," said Smith. "The tarp was the hardest part because we had to have scaffolding inside and outside. Putting it up was hard work, but it paid off."
The yurt will add to the educational experience in the Basin School District, but districts outside of Idaho City can also use the IOEC. The public can also access this area, which features a disc golf course, an ADA hiking trail, a zipline, and a 3D archery range.
"I can’t wait to see where future schools and our school goes with it," said Smith. "I think it is awesome."
