From Berry Preserves to Nature Preserve

When you visit the Environmental Learning Center (ELC) today, you see trees and flowers, scenic ponds, trails, birds, and wildlife. But it wasn't always this way. Until 1972, the site before you was a Smuckers berry processing plant.

When the plant closed, the president of Clackamas Community College challenged art students to develop ideas for reclaiming the site. Through the "Ecology Pond Project," Smuckers' settling ponds, roads, and parking lots were transformed into a landscaped nature center.

Over the years, volunteers planted thousands of trees, shrubs, and flowers. They also brought in rocks, snags, and logs for wildlife, created paths, and built bridges across the ponds and nearby Newell Creek. Later, buildings were added, creating a center for nature study and community education.

The ELC is neither a natural area nor a park. It is an ongoing experiment, an example of what people can do to reclaim industrial sites and restore wildlife habitat in urban areas. Today, we use this living laboratory for a variety of programs, classes, and tours.

The center is named after John Inskeep, a state senator and long-time Clackamas County Agricultural Extension agent.

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