Let’s get ready to rumble: Mount St. Helens Institute to expand outdoor education at Coldwater

MOUNT ST. HELENS NATIONAL VOLCANIC MONUMENT — Amid children’s excited chatter and giggles, the first signs of a volcanic eruption — harmonic tremors — spread at the base of Mount St. Helens.

Nearly 60 Hazel Dell Elementary School fifth-graders fervently rolled their ankles, mimicking the way Mount St. Helens’ pressure built in 1980. Knees swayed, hips shook and heads wiggled left to right as tensions grew until — Boom! The volcano erupted, quickly releasing avalanches of rock and gas, or pyroclastic flows, one of the deadliest volcanic hazards.

Mount St. Helens’ blast zone could be seen mere miles away from the Science and Learning Center at Coldwater, the hub for youth education centered around Southwest Washington’s most notorious volcano.

The Hazel Dell kids are among many who go on day trips or participate in classroom experiences offered through the center. But its operator, educational nonprofit Mount St. Helens Institute, has a large-scale master plan to vastly expand the capacity of its immersive overnight program from hundreds to thousands.

And things have already started rumbling.

What’s the plan?

The institute’s 2021 master plan to develop its hub seems nearly as massive as its namesake volcano.

There is a variety of both public and private stakeholders making the Science and Learning Center’s expansion possible, many of whom also see it as an investment for the state’s tourism industry.

The Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office awarded the institute $250,000, and the Cowlitz Tribal Foundation earmarked $900,000 — its largest donation to date. The U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities provided $210,000, with an additional $300,000 coming from private donors.

Altogether, the entire endeavor will cost between $35 million and $45 million, with completion by 2030 for the 50th anniversary of Mount St. Helens’ 1980 eruption.

A beloved mission

What do children get excited about the most? According to Yurkewycz, it’s two things: dinosaurs and volcanoes.

Being able to see the impacts from such a massive eruption is an inspiring, compelling, unique and powerful opportunity, he said. It grabs people’s attention and allows them to be interested and ask questions.

“I just felt tiny,” Yurkewycz said, recollecting the first time he saw Mount St. Helens’ crater and pumice plain in person. “I felt it was beautiful, but it also felt uncomfortable as I looked and tried to grasp the scale of the eruption.”

Mount St. Helens Institute, founded in 1996, seeks to stir that same sense of awe. Field seminars, guided hikes and youth education programs all serve the same purpose: spark a curiosity about and adoration for nature, whether serene, destructive or both.

Hazel Dell Elementary teacher Joleen Brick’s smile never wavered as she watched her students participate in the demonstration. Their nearly two-hour bus ride from Vancouver to the center was laden with overactive imaginations and anticipation — plus plenty of volcano facts — because it was their first field trip.

“These kiddos were in second grade when COVID-19 hit,” Brick said. “This is a big deal.”

Those who visit during day trips and overnight stays are immersed in the landscape. They examine rocks and explore nature paths, seeing firsthand how nature can flourish in the remnants of a massive volcanic eruption, said Gina Roberti, Mount St. Helens Institute education coordinator. They can see elk, mountain goats and whatever else crawls between trees.

“The biggest thing that I want is for young people to have an experience that they can reflect on later,” she said.

Outdoors for all

Washington has a history of connecting youth and nature.

In 1939, Ellensburg opened the nation’s first outdoor school, which grew in popularity in the following decades. Research shows that children who learn in nature tend to have higher academic achievement, more meaningful peer relationships, and better leadership and collaborative skills, according to the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

However, funding and support for these opportunities was unbalanced and inequitable, particularly in lower-income schools and districts. Only about 10 percent of Washington students benefit from outdoor school, most from higher-income districts, according to Outdoor Schools Washington.

Costs per student for overnight programs are about $175 per night, and about $12 per person per hour for day trips. Few students pay a full rate for the Mount St. Helens Institute’s programs because the institute subsidizes as many fees as possible and fundraises to cover transportation costs, Yurkewycz said.

In 2022, Washington passed legislation to expand outdoor education programs and related grants, which provides funding to school districts, tribes and other outdoor school providers. All fifth- and sixth-graders in the state benefit from the program.