The school district of Port Edwards has had a registered school forest since 1949.  The 27-acre Port Edwards School Forest was a gift from Nekoosa-Edwards Paper Company (NEPCO) in November of 1949 and dedicated in May 1950.  The parcel is located in the South one-half, Section 34, Township 22 North, Range 5 East; Government Lot No. 2, Section 3, Township 21 North, Range 5 East, presently behind ERCO Worldwide.  During the school years of 1949 and 1959, the conservation club blazed two trails and one secondary trail by which you can reach the adjacent Nekoosa School Forest.  The Port Edwards Conservation Club planted approximately 650 trees at the site.  This forested area is left of the end of the main trail and right of the secondary trail. 

 

At the May 5th, 1950 dedication ceremony, nearly 1,000 school children from the Nekoosa and Port Edwards School Districts gathered in the Nekoosa section of the forest to witness and to dedicate the John Edwards High School Forest (Port Edwards) and the Alexander High School Forest (Nekoosa).  Master of ceremonies was F. G. Kilp, manager of the NEPCO's Woodland Operations.  Mr. Kilp gave a short opening speech and later traced the history of the forests' ownership.  N.E. Nash, Vice President of NEPCO, made presentation of the deeds to the forest

parcel, which was divided equally for the two schools.  The presidents of the respective schools' conservation clubs accepted the deeds.

 

Wakelin McNeel (better known as Ranger Mac), noted conservationist, was the principal speaker.  Ranger Mac described the importance of school forests and emphasized the responsibilities of the school children in maintaining their heritage.  Following the program, the two schools went to their respective forests and planted trees.  Each grade had its own plot of land and each child planted at least one tree with the aid of an experienced conservation club member.

 

Throughout the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s, the Conservation Club of JEHS was responsible for maintaining the school forest.  Mr. Jerry Kurz  was the advisor of the Conservation Club.  He was also a teacher of Industrial Arts. Mr. Kurz held meetings for the club regarding forest related topics, hosted guest speakers, and used the forest’s natural resources to build projects such as picnic tables.  In 2004, Mr. Kurz was awarded the Blackhawk Award for his dedication and commitment to JEHS; the award is located outside of the Craig K. Kastner Gymnasium at the high school.

 

The primary users of the school forest since that time have been the science classes of the John Edwards Middle and High School.  The Moccasin Creek has been an excellent site to study groundwater and conduct both physical and chemical water quality tests.  In 2005, a Wisconsin Environmental Education Board grant of approximately $30,000 grant was written to improve our environmental education curriculum, acquire materials for forestry related activities, and to construct an outdoor classroom at the school forest.  Almost $ 15,000 of the grant was match money provided by community members who assisted by providing materials or service hours.  Thank you to all of the supporters!

“Rooted in the past…”

“Growing towards the future…”

In January of 2009, the former 29-acre NEPCO school forest property was sold to ERCO Worldwide, the adjacent manufacturer of chlor-alkali

chemicals, for the price of $126,000 along with an in-kind donation of $150,075, totaling $276,075.  In May of 2009, the district acquired a replacement property for its school forest.  A 40-acre parcel within the village limits off the cul-de-sac of Seventh Street adjacent to Ripple Creek Park became the current school district’s forest.  This site located in Section 26, Township 22 North, and Range 5 East, enables school district students to walk to the property without bussing.

 

In October of 2009, an ad-hoc building committee was formed to investigate the opportunities available for  integrating green technologies into the

construction of an environmental education center for the site.