The Foothills Learning Center was dedicated on Earth Day - April 22, 2005 and is the result of an amazing collaboration among federal, state and local government, non-profit organizations, corporations, and private citizens.
When Boise's citizens voted in 2001 to enact a serial levy to raise $10 million for protection of open space in the Boise Foothills, it was clear that this is a community that cares about its environment. The Boise Department of Parks and Recreation created the Foothills Learning Center as a place to educate the community about this precious resource. Meanwhile, the Boise Department of Public Works had an environmental education program that had been teaching local students about conservation and environmental protection. The programs offered through the Foothills Learning Center are the result of the collaboration of the two departments, who melded their two programs into one- Boise Environmental Education. The latest addition came in the Spring of 2008 with the opening of the new Boise Watershed.