The Friends of Straub Environmental Learning Center creates awareness and understanding of our relationship to the environment, working in partnership with our community. Our environmental education programs teach and motivate people to become active stewards of our environment.
Governor Bob and Pat Straub were the inspiration for the Friends of Straub Environmental Learning Center (FSELC). The Straubs were renowned for their love of Oregon and their efforts to preserve its natural beauty. FSELC seeks to promote that spirit by fostering public awareness of the beauty and cultural history of the Willamette Valley. The centerpiece of FSELC’s activities is the Straub Center, a structure that provides a lab, classroom and meeting space for local organizations.
Bob Straub’s contributions to the people of Oregon during his terms as state treasurer and governor were considerable. Bob’s unyielding efforts to protect the free use and access to Oregon’s public beaches, especially at Nestucca Spit (not in Bob Straub State Park) and his tireless support for Oregon’s statewide land use program, clean air and forested wilderness helped place Oregon at the forefront of the environmental movement. He also initiated the Willamette Greenway program, one of the most important conservation and recreation initiatives in Oregon history.
Pat Straub helped shape and support Bob’s environmental views. She also served on the Oregon Forestry Council and wrote a book on organic gardening, a testament to her devotion to the health of Oregon’s lands. Their homestead included an organic garden and native woods which they donated to the City of Salem as a park.
The Straub Environmental Learning Center is a unique partnership between the Salem-Keizer School District, City of Salem, the Friends of Straub Environmental Learning Center.
