Ten thousand years ago, glaciers made their way across central Wisconsin, leaving behind a sparkling jewel, Sunset Lake, a deep-blue kettle lake nestled among rolling hills. For thousands of years, Early Woodland people walked these shores, building mounds, shaping arrowheads, and leaving behind pottery fragments that still whisper of their lives here.
Fast-forward to 1910, when Norwegian immigrant Mark Nelson bought forty acres on the lake’s southwest shore. He built a small hunting cabin and lived there until 1940, unknowingly planting the seeds for a legacy far bigger than himself. By 1921, his land became the heart of Camp Chickagami, a Boy Scout haven that soon welcomed Girl Scouts, too. Scouts swam across the lake, camped under the stars, and filled pillowcase “ticks” with hay for mattresses. The Order of the Arrow took root here, ceremonies lit by firelight on Arrow Head Hill, its reflection in Sunset Lake forming the perfect namesake.
Through the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s, cabins rose, lodges expanded, and the camp was filled with summer energy. Then, in 1974, the Scouts closed their summer camp, and a new idea began to stir. Local attorney and trustee Hiram Anderson approached UW-Stevens Point Chancellor Lee Sherman Dreyfus with a vision: turn this beloved camp into a living, breathing classroom for environmental education.
By 1975, the Central Wisconsin Environmental Station (CWES) was born. The first school programs rolled out within months, and that summer, a new tradition began, one that would forever link CWES with UWSP’s College of Natural Resources. The University’s Environmental Education and Interpretation program’s teaching practicum found its home here, giving undergraduates a chance to swap lecture halls for lakeshores, and theory for real teaching. At CWES, future environmental educators lead school field trips, guide nature hikes, design lessons, and gain the kind of confidence no textbook can offer. For many, it’s the moment their career paths click.
In the years that followed, CWES has continued to evolve. It began renting farmland in the Town of New Hope to grow fresh produce and raise chickens for its food service program. The next year, CWES secured a major three-year Margaret A. Cargill Foundation grant, allowing up to 200 central Wisconsin youth each year to participate in camp-themed after-school programs during the school year, and return for a week of summer camp with partial scholarships.
A significant milestone came in 2013 when the Tomorrow River Community Charter School (TRCCS) opened on-site, becoming Wisconsin’s first Waldorf-inspired public charter school. The campus quickly adapted to its new role, renovating former scout cabins into classrooms and transforming the old maintenance building into the Sunrise Classroom. That same year, a new stone-based entrance sign was installed, crafted by UWSP Schmeeckle Reserve sign makers.
Accreditation from the American Camp Association was secured, alongside new water bottle filling stations in Sunset and Walker Lodges to reduce plastic waste. CWES completed construction of the Byron and Margaret Shaw Cabin and a new bathhouse, and added a gaga ball pit for campers.
Innovation hasn’t slowed down. Mid-State Technical College students, working with TRCCS students, installed solar panels funded by a Constellation Energy to Educate grant. That same year saw the addition of a hoop house for extended growing seasons and the launch of a Nike Running Camp led by Wisconsin native and American record-holder Chris Solinsky. The “Lead the Pack” orientation program for incoming UWSP students debuted, helping new Pointers build friendships and leadership skills in the great outdoors.
Over the decades, CWES has grown into a year-round hub: Sunset Lodge was winterized, Walker Lodge added, and Anderson Lodge built. Natural Resource Career Camps, Elderhostels, family camps, and international programs flourished. From its earliest roots as a Scout camp to its present-day role as a cornerstone of UWSP’s EEI program, CWES has shaped lives.
Today, when a practicum student stands on the Firebowl’s stone steps, looking out over Sunset Lake before leading a group of fifth graders into the woods, they are part of a long tradition of learning, adventure, and stewardship. The glaciers may have carved Sunset Lake, but its people have carved CWES into what it is now: a place where past and future meet on the shoreline.
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