GREAT FALLS — Just because school was out for the summer didn’t mean students stopped learning. Thirty fifth-grade “construction campers” spent part of their summer hammering, measuring, and building six dog houses that were donated to the Maclean-Cameron Animal Adoption Center this week.
Brianna Juneau reports - watch the video:
The dog houses, built over three days in June, were crafted under the guidance of four construction teachers and six community volunteers as part of the annual Construction Camp. The campers learned everything from how to safely work with tools to working as a team to complete each structure, which were dropped off to the shelter on October 14th.
“As a high school teacher, I was quite impressed on how the younger students are, are pretty locked on. I mean, they performed brilliantly,” explained Bob Wilson, the Great Falls Industrial Tech teacher who has been participating with the camp for several years. “It's super encouraging for me because, at the high school level, I get to see him again. I'm hoping that excitement will carry on through.”
Maclean currently has several dog houses made by the same summer building program years ago, showing just how much love and craftmanship went into the projects and how useful they really are to the shelter dogs.
Larry Evaro, the shelter’s Operations Director said that the community has been stepping up recently for the shelter, donating everything from food to fencing. He explained that the new dog houses will be put to good use. “It's just another example of Great Falls community reaching out and caring for the animals. The dogs like to use them as shelters, like a den situation. We're looking forward to the dogs having more of them to actually utilize.”
For the students, the camp wasn’t just about building dog houses. It was about building confidence, learning lifelong skills, and discovering how their hard work can impact others.
Mr. Wilson added, “The big push for this project is it's rewarding, really to everyone. It’s rewarding to the students that are super excited to be there and to use their tools and develop their skills, and overall, who doesn't love dogs? You know, we love to do projects like this.”
The Construction Camp is held each summer and continues to be a favorite among students and the community.