Plans continue for the Yuba Watershed Experience Center
With the Yuba Water Agency and partners recently deciding to move forward with planning and development of a learning center along the Yuba River, local are now planning to visit the Westside Water Education Center in Sonoma County and begin outreach to local educators.
According to a press release, the Yuba Water Agency board unanimously voted last month to continue to pursue the concept of developing a facility and program aimed at educating the public about the Yuba River Watershed.
Dede Cordell, communications manager for the Yuba Water Agency, said local superintendents and school board members were invited by the agency to visit the Sonoma facility.
“The tour on Monday is the beginning of outreach to local educators,” she said.
Brent Hastey, YWA board chairman, said they want to try and make sure the educational leaders within the community understand the project and explain the vision to them.
Gary Cena, superintendent of Marysville Joint Unified School District, is one of the people planning to attend.
“The district’s motto is ‘making connections between school, home and community’ and this seems like a worthwhile partnership,” Cena said. “... My hope would be that we can find a way to connect the next generation science standards with this project.”
He said he also hopes it will help students build a strong relationship with the community and provide hands-on learning and education on different aspects of the river.
The Yuba Watershed Experience Center project aims to enhance educational opportunities for Yuba County residents through science, technology, engineering, art, math, environment, culture and history curriculum using the Yuba River as the foundation, according to the press release.
The center will provide in-classroom curriculum activities for all grade levels along with a riverfront facility for field trips, offering hands-on experiences.
Additionally, it could be designed to accommodate conferences, leadership retreats, recreational opportunities and more.
Some of the target audiences for the project include K-12 schools, college students and career preparatory programs.
According to the press release, certificated teachers will instruct the K-12 program to meet state curriculum standards to ensure lessons are geared toward what the students are learning in their classrooms.
Hastey said when looking at the agency and the county, he thinks of what things can make a difference in the future and how those who built New Bullards Bar Dam “dreamed big.”
“I hope that 25 years from now when people ask a former student what do they know about the Yuba River … how water impacts us from a science standpoint, from an economic standpoint that they can answer those questions,” Hastey said. “... This would be a way to have a long-term impact.”
Cordell said they plan to implement water-related education programs in some local schools during the upcoming school year while they further develop the facility concept.
“We are already launching some programs that we are already working
on with the schools to get into classes in the next school year so we can build relationships with those teachers,” she said.
Cordell said at this point, the main focus for the project is trying to secure land for the center and working on the curriculum that they can start right away.
“We have very big dreams,” she said. “We want to touch everyone that we can to try and enhance the education that the kids are getting and make a dent in improving the quality of life in Yuba County.”
She said at this point it’s hard to speculate how much the project will cost, however, according to the Yuba Watershed Experience Center vision, the center is expected to be a multi-million dollar project.
Hastey said he believes the agency will fund the education for Yuba County but will also look to find partners to help fund the project as well.
Representatives from different organizations involved in planning the Yuba Watershed Experience Center visited the Westside Water Education Center in April to see if there are certain aspects of the facility and education program that could be implemented locally. The facility has two classrooms and interactive displays – such as an augmented reality sandbox and other hands-on learning tools.
Partners in the initial planning include the Yuba Water Agency, Yuba County Office of Education, Yuba Community College District, South Yuba River Citizens League and Yuba River Endowment, Cordell said.