Groundwork for Clark College’s new Boschma Farms campus in Ridgefield is now underway, following the groundbreaking ceremony held last Wednesday, June 1. Construction of the campus is scheduled to begin next spring and is expected to be completed during winter 2024.
The ceremony featured remarks by President Dr. Karin Edwards, Bernice Boschma and Ridgefield Mayor Jennifer Lindsay, as well as board members of the Clark College Foundation and the Cowlitz Tribe.
Hank and Bernice Boschma previously used the 59-acre site as farmland, and before that it originally belonged to the Cowlitz Tribe. Located at 200-204 N 65th Avenue, the 61,000-square-foot building will host classes in robotics, manufacturing and material sciences, as well as a new curriculum for a clean energy degree.
“I was incredibly touched,” said Edwards. “It was an opportunity for us to hear some of the history of the area of the land where our campus will be built, we heard part of it from the original occupants of the land and then we heard about the history from the Boschma family. The next story that will be told will be from Clark College and our students on how that land is serving us, or meeting a need and how it’s being utilized. And more importantly, how it’s being honored.”
