Washougal High students tout infrastructure needs

Washougal High School engineering students are enlightening elected officials on the types of city projects that might be most important to Washougal’s next generation.

The students shared their visions with Washougal City Council members during the Council’s May 23 meeting.

The ideas concentrated on green infrastructure that would improve the overall community, including a food forest, bike park, sidewalk improvements to make Washougal more pedestrian-friendly and a dog park.

Washougal High engineering teachers Jason Blaesing and Donna Schatz worked with students to envision their projects, identify barriers and costs, and refine their pitches. The students generated proposed sites with mapping tools, researched environmental benefits and challenges, and developed costing estimates.

“In class, they are exposed to the role and the work of engineers, and the design and development of solutions to real-world problems,” Blaesing told the council. “Through investigating green infrastructure, students looked at different solution strategies that engineers and planners are using to address urban problems. We focused on the green infrastructure plan in Norfolk, Virginia — that was part of our curriculum. We looked at different land and water goals that were being implemented there, and we looked at how we can bring those same goals here to Washougal and improve the green infrastructure in their own community.”