BRUSH PRAIRIE — The seeds of the Center for Agriculture, Science and Environmental Education — better known as CASEE — were planted back during the 1984-85 school year when Battle Ground High School teachers Mark Watrin and Tim Hicks were working to revise the school’s agricultural curriculum. It would take nearly another decade before the first classes were held on the CASEE campus, an 80-acre outdoor learning lab in Brush Prairie.
“I am so impressed with how CASEE has continued to evolve and adopt new technologies and partnerships over the years,” said Watrin, now a retired teacher and vice president of the Battle Ground Public Schools Board of Directors.
To celebrate the program’s 30th anniversary, CASEE and Battle Ground Public Schools held a public event on Sept. 30 at the CASEE campus. Visitors were able to attend a Q&A session to hear from former students and teachers, take a tour of the campus led by current students, view student projects and enjoy refreshments.
High school students attending CASEE spend a half-day on the program’s campus, studying a science-based curriculum immersed in biology, forestry/wildlife, agroecology and other topics, as well as English. They attend their neighborhood high school for a half-day to round out their studies.
