[uplifting acoustic guitar music]
- Narrator: The majestic white pine trees,
which brought the lumbermen to Stevens Point,
still tower above the city's many parks and green spaces.
To encourage the use and enjoyment
of these treasured places,
a group of civic-minded residents
pursued a new idea in 1989.
- Christine Thomas: The trail was
a relatively new idea in its day.
The idea was to take the wonderful parks
we have in Stevens Point and to connect them
so that folks could walk, bike, take their dogs,
push their strollers
over the entire greater Stevens Point, Plover, Whiting area.
[acoustic guitar music]
- Narrator: The Green Circle Trail
would string together the jewels of the city's park system,
a system that began when people complained about the quality
of the drinking water drawn from the Wisconsin River.
- Tim Siebert: The water tended to be murky,
not necessarily bad health-wise, but it was not pleasant.
It kind of smelled.
Then the city discovered the aquifer to the east of the city
and began to pump that water.
And just kinda took on the name
"The City of Wonderful Water" because of the clarity.
- Narrator: To protect the underground aquifer.
The city purchased the land around the wells,
including a section of the Plover River
with a popular swimming hole.
This ready-made recreation area soon became a city park.
In 1935, a generous gift
more than doubled the size of the park.
- Ron Zimmerman: Jules Iverson, a local businessman in town,
purchased it with the idea that it was
for the children of Portage County.
That park today bears his name.
- Narrator: As Iverson Park grew on the city's east side,
changes to the west side were occurring
along the Wisconsin River front.
- Tim Siebert: There were lumber mills all along the river.
Once those began to disappear,
then the idea began to develop of,
you know, maybe this would be good parkland.
- Ron Zimmerman: That water crisis that created Iverson Park
also created Bukolt Park because the old water plant
in what became Bukolt Park was abandoned.
So, it was excellent land right on the Wisconsin River.
It was just a natural to become a park.
[playful instrumental music]
- Narrator: Improvements to the swimming beaches
of both parks proved to be highly popular
with the children of Stevens point.
- Siebert: Swimming was pretty important back in the day.
They didn't have air conditioning.
- Dorothy Zmuda: We had lot of fun there.
We just wanted to swim.
You could go up on the dock, and there was a 15-foot scaffold
where the brave people dived off.
Not me; [chuckling]
I climbed up, but I climbed off, too. [laughs]
[playful instrumental music]
- Narrator: The Green Circle Trail
provides a journey through history,
passing by a collection of park buildings
built during the Great Depression.
The Works Progress Administration, or WPA,
employed local people and used local materials
for the construction.
- Ron Zimmerman: They used local sandstone
to create some of those beautiful buildings
that are still in use today in those parks.
Gives 'em a very timeless look.
[playful instrumental music]
- Narrator: Through the years,
more recreational opportunities were added at Iverson Park,
including a ski jump and toboggan slide.
[children laughing and screaming]
[toboggan sliding]
[happy laughter]
The anchor point of the Green Circle Trail
is the Schmeeckle Reserve,
a 280-acre conservancy on the UW-Stevens Point campus
named for Fred Schmeeckle,
a professor who came to teach in 1923.
[instrumental guitar music]
- Christine Thomas: Fred Schmeeckle was hired
to teach agriculture and science.
He decided that conservation was a really important thing
and that teachers also needed to know about that.
- Male Narrator: "Soil erosion, destruction of forests,
"pollution of water, and misuse of wildlife,
"were factors that started me thinking
"that something should be done to educate people
in the wise use of resources."
- Ron Zimmerman: He started teaching a few conservation courses,
and in 1946,
it became the first conservation education major
in the United States.
He's called "the father of conservation"
here at Stevens Point.
He really was ahead of his time.
He was really a pioneer.
[instrumental guitar music]
- Christine Thomas: The late 1960s is really the start
of the environmental movement.
And natural resources, in general,
has always been very popular in Wisconsin.
This was sort of a natural place in a natural time.
In the 1970s,
the conservation major became
the College of Natural Resources.
And so, this grew into
the largest natural resources-based undergraduate program
in the country.
- Ron Zimmerman: You can find majors
not only in the United States but all over the world.
- Christine Thomas: One thing that sets our students apart
is the hands-on nature of our program.
And that really started with Fred Schmeeckle.
He was a hands-on guy, and the university
had a parcel of land just to the north of campus
that they purchased, with the idea of
potentially expanding there.
But Schmeeckle used it as an outdoor classroom.
[acoustic guitar music]
- Narrator: The land used by Schmeeckle
would officially become a conservancy in 1977
and named in his honor.
Today, the university continues to use the land
as an outdoor laboratory and training ground
for natural restoration. [starting chainsaw engine]
- Christine Thomas: It also is a community resource.
It's a quiet, wonderful place to come,
and the community takes advantage of that.
- Ron Zimmerman: Today, people look at the reserve
as a place to get back to a more natural rhythm.
- Christine Thomas: This is also the trailhead
for the 27-mile Green Circle Trail.
- Ron Zimmerman: The trail was an inherent problem to create
because they didn't have natural public lands
that connected all of these neat parks
and all these points of interests.
And they needed to win over private landowners
because they had no money to rent land or anything.
And many, many people signed off.
[tires crunch on gravel]
You get these corridors of green
to connect the whole area.
There's been a lot of,
a lot of unity, a lotta cooperation.
- Christine Thomas: Community-minded people who got together
and found ways to make the world a better place.
*
[piano music]
- Narrator: The city's dedication
to improving their community
is evident in the Sculpture Garden
located along the Green Circle Trail.
Created in 2009,
the 20-acre park features the work
of local and national artists
in a setting that connects nature and art.
The city's commitment to the arts
is also seen in the murals in the downtown area.
Many depict the city's history and important residents.
[fountain splashing]
The Stevens Point square continues to serve
as an anchor for the community,
providing a place to gather and find refreshment
on warm summer days.
The farmers' market
still draws crowds in search of local produce.
As legacy businesses thrive and grow,
Stevens Point welcomes new industries,
creating a diverse local economy
poised for future growth.
- Ray Reser: Stevens Point is culturally and ecologically
the center of the state.
This has been a mecca
for people to come to for the last 12,000 years,
and I think that just speaks well to our shared history
in the state and what an amazing place this is.
*