Trumbull agriculture center in Cortland unveils outdoor classroom

Staff report

CORTLAND

The Trumbull Soil and Water Conservation District reached a longtime goal when it unveiled a new outdoor classroom on the grounds of the 14-acre Trumbull County Agriculture and Family Education Center here.

The $47,000 covered space provides a place where environmental programs of all types can be carried out, said Amy Reeher, the district’s administrator. It will seat 35 to 50 people at a time. It also has storage space. It was unveiled Wednesday.

A committee was formed in 2010 to begin planning for the facility, but the committee was turned down for grant funds, and the project stalled.

But the district started getting a lot of requests for outdoor programs in recent years, and idea became a high priority.

The district is providing most of the money for the outdoor classroom, but the county engineer’s office and Lafarge Construction Materials of Lordstown also helped out.

The Trumbull SWCD has 8,000 students engaged in 250 to 300 outdoor programs. Its family, adult and watershed programs are used by 8,000 to 12,000 people, Reeher said.

Among the programs is a beehive program for students in Champion schools. Students from Mathews, LaBrae, Bristol and 4-H also use the facilities.

In addition to the soil and water conservation district, the Education Center is home to other agencies, including the Ohio State University Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Ohio Department of Natural Resources soil scientists.