RIVER FALLS — River Falls School District and school/community forest representatives gathered a crowd at the RFSD forest to unveil a pavilion Oct. 15.

The pavilion is funded two-thirds by River Falls Rotary, with the rest being split between district grant funds and other clubs.

“The primary purpose today is to gather to dedicate this pavilion and express our gratitude to River Falls Rotary as well as the other supporting Rotary clubs in the region who raised the funds necessary to design and construct this space,” Superintendent David Bell said. “Rotary is an organization committed to serving others and supporting education in our community.”

Bell said the previous two superintendents, Tom Westerhaus and Jamie Benson had worked hard to pave the way for this pavilion, and it was a pleasure to see through the finishing touches. He said the two were both Rotarians.

Since the district acquired the forest in the 1930s/40s, it has been a difficult journey to make progress because the area was landlocked. In 2021, they broke through to acquire an access point to the forest. After 2021, plans have been flying, including field trips starting in 2023 on a slim path that required nine-point turns for bus drivers to return to the road. In 2024, volunteers helped clear overgrown plants blocking the road and created a bus turnaround point at the end.

“There’s always more to do, always more that we are excited to work on and want to see happen,” School Forest Co-Coordinator Lauren Kaminski said. “But then they look back at how much has happened in the past few years, and prior to that, everything that got us even to that point, it’s incredible.”

“As soon as we saw it, we said, ‘Alright, Rotary can go to work,’” Co-Project Manager Rick Wilson said.

Lyle and Roberta Johnson owned the land to access the forest previously. Co-Project Manager Dale Jorgenson had worked with the two since 2009 to work something out to create an access point. Lyle and Roberta have since passed, and a rock at the school forest will enshrine their names forever.

“It’s a pleasure to be here as we honor Lyle and Roberta Johnson for their generosity,” Jorgenson said. “It seems more than appropriate to be here during the heart of the harvest season when the seeds of the spring past bear the fruit of the farmer’s labor.”

They cemented a legacy through land that can never be developed for the rest of time due to the conservation easement.

“Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them,” Jorgenson said, quoting Aldo Leopold. “That will never happen here.”

“One sows and another reaps, the sower and the reaper can rejoice together,” Jorgenson said. “So it is with us.”

School Forest Co-Coordinator Mikayla Sanocki said teachers are already taking their students to the forest more and more. Nearly one-third of district students have made it out to the school forest in the last month alone, she said.

“Many of those teachers are now talking about coming in the different seasons,” Sanocki said. “Now that we have a structure, we have a safe spot that they feel comfortable bringing their kids out here. They're going to come out in the winter, they’re going to come out in the spring.”

The general public is also welcome to walk the trails of the forest 355 days a year, with the exception being gun deer hunting season.

The thanks were endless as seemingly everyone in town played a part in getting this pavilion project off the ground.