The amazing story of the Fernwood Botanical Garden & Nature Preserve officially launched a new chapter Thursday afternoon in ground-breaking ceremonies for a sizable new 5,500 square foot Education Center to the tune of some $2-million.
After more than three years of planning, designing, and fundraising, Fernwood, which is located in Buchanan Township near Niles, celebrated the start of construction on their new Education Center during a much-anticipated ground breaking event.
The $2-million facility is projected to be complete by late 2018. It will become the central location for lectures, classes, workshops, interactive exhibits, environmentally focused books and research materials, and a gathering space for camps and field trips. It replaces the 35-year-old undersized and technologically outdated Nature Center on the Fernwood grounds where classes and camps have historically been held.
Carol Line is Executive Director of Fernwood. At the ceremonies Thursday, she said, “Today begins the next step in Fernwood’s history of sharing environmental education with more students, offering more lifelong education classes, and further deepening respect within our region for the interdependent roles that land, plants, and animals play in sustaining daily life.”
Line went on to explain that as environmental awareness has increased, students, teachers, schools, and the region’s community members want to learn more about the natural world. This increased demand has stretched Fernwood’s facilities beyond what they were designed to do, however, the new Education Center will remedy that and position Fernwood for growth.
The Education Center will double Fernwood’s teaching and learning space and allow the organization to serve larger groups. Existing classroom capacity is 72 individuals. Going forward, two wings – Flora and Fauna – will each accommodate up to 200 people. The Fauna wing will feature bird-viewing areas overlooking the wooded grounds. The building will be equipped with multimedia instruction tools to help instructors meet a range of learning styles. When not in use for educational purposes, classrooms can be rented for meetings, retreats, and other private events.
The Education Center will house a variety of interpretive exhibits and displays designed for hands-on learning. Fernwood’s library, which is currently in the Visitor Center, will move to the Education Center to join the nucleus of educational activities. A second library, dedicated to the learning needs of children and families, will be added to ignite in young minds curiosity and interest in the natural world.
The facility will boast sustainable design features in line with Fernwood’s environmental principles. A green roof will cover 25-percent of the Education Center and will work with a rain garden to mitigate the damaging effects of rainwater runoff. The features will work to protect delicate ecosystems throughout the nature preserve and gardens.
During the ground breaking ceremony, officials spoke to an audience of Fernwood members, community leaders, and other invited guests.
Mary Keefe, who serves as Board Chair for Fernwood told the crowd, “This expansion is built on Fernwood’s environmental education expertise and is an extension of the work it has done for more than 50 years. This positions Fernwood well to carry out an ambitious initiative in a sustainable way to serve today’s generations and those yet to come.”
The Education Center has been made possible by Seed the Future, an extensive fundraising effort that, to date, has raised $3 million. In addition to funding construction of the Education Center, the $3.2 million campaign is raising capital for implementation of a garden master plan, Visitor Center renovations, cultural programming, and the growth of Fernwood’s endowment fund.
Joanne Sims serves as the Seed the Future Campaign Chair. She says, “So many individuals, foundations, and companies have come together to support the Seed the Future campaign. Their generosity not only makes construction of this facility possible but allows Fernwood to realize growth in other important ways as well.”
Tigerman McCurry Architects of Chicago have designed the Education Center. The general contractor for the project is E C Moore & Associates of Berrien Springs.
Fernwood will remain open throughout construction for all regular activities including education classes, lectures, field trips, camps, group tours, self-guided trail hikes on the grounds, and private events.
Fernwood is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 am to 6 pm and Sunday noon to 6 pm. Admission is $9 for adults, $7 for seniors 65 and older, and $4 for children ages 5 through 17. Children under 5 and Fernwood members are admitted free.
Fernwood is located in Buchanan Township at 13988 Range Line Road near Niles. For more information about Fernwood visit www.fernwoodbotanical.org or call 269-695-6491.
Established in 1964, Fernwood Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve is located on 105-acres of gardens, woodlands, ravines, marshes, restored prairie, and river frontage on the St. Joseph River in Buchanan Township. The non-profit organization has a mission to enrich people’s lives by awakening and deepening their appreciation of nature and the possibilities of harmony between people, plants, gardens, and wildlife.
Shown in the photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market are: From left – Mac Sims, Joanne Sims, Carol Line, Margaret McCurry, Gloria Wolvos, Mary Keefe as they break ground on Fernwood’s new Education Center site.
