Week long event in Haugan educates students about the outdoors

HAUGAN – Students from the Superior Elementary School descended upon the historic Savenac Nursery in Haugan last week to learn skills they will easily put to use in the many outdoor recreational opportunities Mineral County has to offer.

From archery to safe handling of airsoft firearms to simply learning how to build a proper campfire, students spent the week learning outdoor skills as part of the annual sixth grade Outdoor School. Students have been going to the site that was burned to the ground during the notorious fire of 1910 and learning about the outdoors for decades.

The Savenac Nursery, after it was rebuilt following the disaster of 1910, was instrumental in rebuilding the forests of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. Now, the nursery serves as a memorial and educational tool for young people. Superior Elementary School sixth grade teacher Seth Kuhl said the students were enjoying their time learning about the outdoors.

“It’s been really good and we’ve had great weather,” Kuhl said. “We had a Forest Service Day. We had ATV safety. We had archery. We had pond ecology and wilderness survival. During the field trip, we went to Idaho to the Sierra Silver Mine and then we went to the Hale Fish Hatchery. I went to Outdoor School when I was a sixth grader. The kids have had a good time.”

Two students from Kuhl’s class verified that they had enjoyed their time at the Savenac Nursery. Ethan Kelsey and Timothy Galarneau said being outdoors and learning outside of the traditional classroom was an enjoyable way to spend their last few days in school before the summer recess.

“We learned to kayak and shoot bows,” Galarneau said. “My favorite part was the bow shooting.  We learned new stuff every day. We looked at the stars at night. It’s really fun and the meals are actually pretty good.”

Kelsey said he found the experience to be rewarding as well as educational but he said his favorite part was the extra-curricular activities.

“We’ve had fun pranking each other,” Kelsey said. “They’re fun. We’ve done archery, rafting and ATV safety. We learned about tree planting. We learned how to fish and build a fire. It’s not what I expected.”

The nursery was created in 1907 by Forest Service worker Elers Koch. Koch was also involved in fighting the Great Fire of 1910 that destroyed the nursery and over 3,000,000 acres including Mineral County. The fire burned for two days and resulted in the deaths of 87 people. It is considered by historians to be the largest forest fire in the history of the United States.

The Mineral County towns of Haugan and De Borgia were completely destroyed in the inferno. The fire greatly influenced the Forest Service and how they manage federal forested lands. After reconstruction, the Savenac Nursery was instrumental in restoring areas affected by the fire of 1910. The facility, at the height of production, was growing over 12 million seedlings a year.

Today, the nursery is registered with the National Register of Historic Places. There are approximately ten buildings left and are constantly repaired and maintained by caretakers and volunteers.