Seguin ISD closes on purchase of Irma Lewis Seguin Outdoor Learning Center

Seguin, TX, USA / Seguin Today
Cindy Aguirre

(Seguin) — The Seguin ISD is embracing the great outdoors with its recent purchase of the Irma Lewis Seguin Outdoor Learning Center. The $1.2 million property that sits on a 122-acre tract at 1865 U.S. Hwy. 90 has served area students for years. The property, named after the late Seguin ISD board member, includes hike and bike trails, a ropes course, a pond for kayaking, canoeing and fishing, archery plus skeet and small-bore ranges.

Applauding this long talked about acquisition is Pete Silvius, Seguin ISD’s whole child director.

“Literally, this has been years. The most immediate conversations and most fruitful conversations have been over the past two years but even prior to that, this has gone back to even when Irma was alive and all the way back to the very beginning of the non-profit. It was always a goal to have it really connected with the public schools in Seguin and we did that by way of contractual relationships in the past, but it was always the goal to have the schools really be invested in the development and the sustainability of the center,” said Silvius.

As a close friend of Lewis, Silvius says the acquisition is quite emotional for him and believes that she would have been proud of the work and effort carried out by the SOLC board over the past decades.

He also says that Lewis, who worked as a physical education teacher, would have been elated to know that the Seguin ISD had stepped up to the plate to preserve her legacy.

“I think what it means is that we can ensure that the legacy of Irma Lewis will last for generations. Connecting the programming of the Outdoor Learning Center and protecting that space for children and families and communities to utilize — to be in nature and to utilize outdoor programming I think is one of those things that I think is very special given the environment that we are in in this area with such rapid growth. To protect 120 acres for nature and for outdoor recreation and education. I think is going to be a huge foot forward for our community and it’s right in line with what our priorities are within Seguin ISD. We believe in ensuring that all students have access to time outside and time in nature and so this facility will allow us to live into that more fully, “said Silvius.

In addition to introducing and inspiring outdoor education, Sean Hoffmann, the chief communications officer for the Seguin ISD, adds that the property will also serve as a potential site for agriculture education.

“Back in January, the district had first mentioned (and) kind of went public at that time that we were looking and negotiating on a potential purpose for that property and at that time, we did relay that it might serve as a location for the Agricultural Science Facility which was passed as part of Bond 2022 and we are still at that point to where now that we own the property, we can get on the property. We can do some surveying and investigating a little bit further about the facility and where that particular Ag site facility might be able to fit in. That kind of opens the doors for us now that we own and can get on the property so that is still on the table. We are going to do our due diligence and analysis moving forward to see if it will be a good fit for us,” said Hoffmann.

Just as grateful to have finally reached a deal with the Seguin ISD is the ILSOLC Board of Directors who has provided Seguin and surrounding areas with a “multitude of recreational and educational opportunities.”

From field trips to summer camps – children in Seguin ISD, Navarro ISD and other districts have been able to utilize the center.

Board President Brandon Allen, says although the idea had been talked about for years, it wasn’t until after the COVID pandemic that selling the property was officially placed on the table.

“The conversation started months before COVID and the idea was hey, could we go find a better steward for the center and who would that be? The school district brought to us a couple of ideas about potentially leasing out the center and we would continue on as a board but as we got further and further into those conversations, the idea of selling it to the school district presented itself and because volunteer numbers were low and because fundraising campaigns were low out at the center, we felt like the sale option made a lot of sense,” said Allen.

Allen says selling the center not only fell in line with Lewis’ initial vision but continues to remain confident in the Seguin ISD’s plans for the future.

“We already knew that Irma Lewis’ vision was to partner with the school district and have this be something that was managed by the school district and there were talks to sell it to the school district many years ago but for whatever reason those conversations never led to a partnership or transaction to have this be under the school district’s so as we started talking about it as a group a couple of years ago, we weren’t looking to sell it but as we looked at the big picture — the school district having more resources  — we put a lot of faith and trust into Pete Silvius and his outdoor education program and his involvement center so when we added those together, doing this with the school district made a lot of sense,” said Allen.

Up until now, Allen says the facility was the only outdoor learning center in Texas that was not owned by a school district. He says this acquisition, however, does not end the board’s support and contributions toward the continued success of the SOLC.

“What we’d like to see happen is we would like to continue to support the school district so that they can make the center a success under their leadership. So, we aren’t abandoning the center right away. We still want to support the center. We still want it to be a success. We are just not going to be involved with the decision making and the day-to-day decisions out there. We still want to make sure Irma Lewis’ vision continues and the school district, they have a lot of work to do out there. Now after we see that they have had success with it, we are flexible in what we can support after that. We still want to support outdoor education. We still want to support youth programs, kids in agriculture. That’s kind of the future but the immediate future is continuing to support the school district, so they get this thing up and running and thriving again,” said Allen.

It was in 1995 that Lewis’ vision for the outdoor facility was put into motion thanks to the initial land donation of 23 acres from Seguin resident Carla Blumberg.

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