New Nature School to be Built Near Columbia on Donated Land

A new nature school near Columbia will allow students to learn about the environment by being immersed in it.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that former publisher Hank Waters and his wife, associate publisher Vicki Russell, donated the 207 acres where four classrooms and lab spaces will be built. The land is located next to the Three Creeks Conservation Area.

The project is a partnership between Columbia Public Schools and the Missouri Department of Conservation, which maintains the 1,000-acre conservation area. District science coordinator Mike Szydlowski says the Conservation Department will help care for the school’s land and will build 3 miles of trail.

Szydlowski says Waters didn’t want the land to be developed and wanted to leave a legacy in Columbia.