There is something noticeably absent from the schoolyard this September.
The SEED classroom the Sustainability Club for Youth tirelessly fundraised for at the close of the last school year is nowhere to be found.
That鈥檚 because, despite the efforts of the club, who raised $50,000, and the sustainable designer, who promised the prototype to Jasper鈥檚 students, the funds for the net-zero modular classroom haven鈥檛 been raised.
鈥淲e went into this pretty hopeful, with the thought that it wouldn鈥檛 be too difficult to fundraise the entire cost of the prototype,鈥� said Stacy Smedley, the Seattle-based designer who created the SEED. 鈥淏ut we were finding on our end, we could fundraise money and get people excited about the SEED classroom, but in Seattle the people didn鈥檛 understand why they were going to donate money to send it somewhere else.
鈥淲hen we were talking to larger funders or looking for grants and things like that, it was very much 鈥榳e will give you money and support this if it鈥檚 a local effort.鈥欌��
Jasper was chosen to be the first community to receive one of Smedley鈥檚 classrooms after she heard the Sustainability Club for Youth present in Portland, Ore. last year.
But because of the fundraising roadblocks and a need to pay the bills, the prototype that was earmarked for Jasper was sold to a private school in Seattle just this month. 鈥淲e had to make a decision on how we could basically cover our debt and get the SEED classroom somewhere and not just in our factory,鈥� said Smedley, noting that this doesn鈥檛 end her involvement with Jasper鈥檚 students鈥攖he students who inspired her two years ago.
鈥淭his is definitely not us washing our hands and walking away,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e talking to the parent group and we鈥檙e trying to figure out what the best process is going to be.鈥�
The options so far are to continue fundraising for a SEED, which costs more than $200,000 without transport and permitting, or put the students鈥� $50,000 toward retrofitting a classroom in the new high school.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the conversation that鈥檚 currently happening,鈥� she said.
Magda Mahler is one of the parents involved in those discussions. She said right now it鈥檚 too early to say what will happen, and noted that before anything can be done, discussions need to take place with the organizations and businesses that have donated money.
A letter was to be sent out to those stakeholders to fill them in on the stall in the project this week, and another letter, from Smedley, was to be sent to the students.
鈥淚 want them to know that [the SEED] might not be in Jasper, but their voice and inspiration is embedded in what the SEED classroom is, and wherever it goes, it has Jasper鈥檚 influence and story in it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t wouldn鈥檛 exist without the inspiration that they instilled in us. So even though they might not be in it, what they inspired in us and what they did for that prototype is going to be enjoyed and used.鈥�
This hiccup in the process is one of many that have plagued the project.
In June, Adam Robb, the former sustainability teacher, told the 51暗网 the project was delayed because of 鈥渢wo major hurdles.鈥�
The first was finding a definitive location. That became problematic because, despite what was originally thought, the SEED classroom isn鈥檛 completely self-sustaining. Rather, it鈥檚 net-zero, which means it needs to draw some energy during the winter.
This was an issue because the proposed location for the classroom doesn鈥檛 have a power source.
The second hurdle at the time was the need for permits and the inability to apply for them until a location had been selected.
聽Nicole Veerman
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