‘You are the solution’: Summer Solstice event raises money for Poudre Learning Center ...Saudi Arabia

Ray Tschillard estimates that over 200,000 students have visited the Poudre Learning Center.

Tschillard, a former executive director of the Poudre Learning Center, said to a crowd at a fundraising event on Friday, “Our job today is really to look at: How do we help the next 100,000 students?”

The Poudre Learning Center Foundation hosted “Solstice Sunset,” a fundraiser event benefiting the Field Experience Ambassador Program, Friday evening at the center’s InSTEM Building in Greeley.

The center’s celebration of the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, invited attendees to reconnect with nature, alongside good company, surrounded by good views and all for a good cause.

The Poudre Learning Center, a part of Greeley-Evans School District 6, offers outdoor education experiences to K-12 students through programs and projects on what Jim Butterfield, coordinator of the Poudre Learning Center and STEM, calls “the largest classroom in District 6, 65 acres of land.”

The Field Experience Ambassador Program, led by experts known as ambassadors, delivers Colorado Academic Standards-based hands-on learning adventures to K-12 students in Northern Colorado.

Program participants engage in real-world science practices in the grasslands, river habitats, native species and more. This can look like a fifth-grade classroom that learned about pollination from a science book, coming to the Poudre Learning Center to bring the lesson to life and seeing pollinators in action, according to an example from Butterfield.

Ambassadors, described as the “fun uncle of teaching,” make up three different walks of life, cited by Butterfield: College students who want to pursue a career in education, people passionate about science and the outdoors and retired educators who come back to serve the community.

Although the Poudre Learning Center is funded by District 6, ambassadors are funded through grants, according to Butterfield. However, he believes that grant money going toward “stuff” the center can purchase, like cameras or door locks, feels more reliable than funding wages.

“When the money runs out, I get to keep the stuff,” he said. “With ambassadors, they’re people. The salaries can potentially run out when the grant runs out, and then I lose really high-quality people.”

That’s where the Poudre Learning Foundation, which fundraises, supports and promotes available programming, comes in.

The Field Experience Ambassador Program costs about $15,000 to 20,000 a year, but the amount continues to grow as the learning center conducts more field experiences, Butterfield said. Last year, the Poudre Learning Center put on eight programs between July 1 and August 31. This summer, eight programs have happened before July 1.

More programming means hiring additional ambassadors, creating a need for more funding.

Butterfield said ambassadors make $25 an hour, working nearly six-hour days, similar to a substitute teacher’s schedule and pay grade. Although District 6 students can attend for free, most out-of-district schools receive scholarships to cover the cost, $25 per student, of attending the Field Experience Ambassador Program.

All donations from the “Solistisc Sunset” fundraiser will either cover the salaries of ambassadors or support a transportation scholarship fund, which eliminates one barrier to kids having access to the center by covering the costs of buses.

In the 2024-25 school year, ambassadors worked with 40 schools in Northern Colorado, but 76% of field experiences served District 6, according to program highlights listed on the foundation’s website. In total, 104 field experiences occurred, serving over 8,000 K-12 students.

Of students surveyed, 87% said “they felt more inspired to take care of nature after their on-site field experience,” the program highlights said.

A field experience testimonial, shared on the Poudre Learning Center website, from a Wray Elementary School fifth grader said, “Will you still be here when I am an adult? Will you hire me so I can be an environmental educator too?”

A goal of the facility has always been centered on getting all kids in the area outside, inspiring environmental stewardship and citizenship, Tschillard highlighted. However, inspiring kids to step foot outside comes from the support of the community, volunteers, staff members and sponsors.

“It’s really up to us,” Tschillard said. “You are the solution. You’re the ones who will inspire our students and the community with your renowned sense of wonder and nature. Share the joy, excitement and the mystery of our world.”

The Poudre Learning Center Foundation’s mission also includes developing new educational opportunities. Future opportunities are underway as another 133 acres of land sit undeveloped on the north side of the Poudre Learning Center for an observatory.

On top of raising money for the Field Experience Ambassador Program, attendees could explore additional programs and special projects like the future astronomical observatory and the Caring for Our Watersheds Program, which teaches water literacy to young students.

The Poudre Learning Center Foundation will honor people who donate $500 or more to programs and projects with a commemorative brick, placed at prominent locations on-site, according to Mark Llewellyn, president of the Poudre Learning Center Foundation.

To donate, go to www.PLCFoundation.org or mail a check to the Poudre Learning Center Foundation at 8313 West F St., Greeley, CO 80631.

“Your support, not only financial, but just telling your friends about this place, that’s just as important,” Llewellyn said. “Go home and tell your friends and neighbors about this magical place.”

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