Kalamazoo Nature Center expands facilities for educational programs
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Work is underway on construction to expand space for educational programs at the Kalamazoo Nature Center.
Groundbreaking took place Jan. 4 at the timber frame barn where a new camp is being built. The barn will be opened up to create two 3,000 square foot additions on the top and lower levels that will allow the education staff at the Nature Center to serve more students and serve them more often throughout the year.
Offices, a kitchen, an art studio complete with a kiln and an expanded area where students can explore ecological science experiments are all part of the expansion.
Campers arriving for summer camp in June will enjoy an upgraded program center, art studio, ecology lab, natural playground, archery range, zip-line canopy tours, climbing elements, team-building courses, and a giant slip ‘n’ slide.
“Our goal is to be ready when we open for camp on June 17,” says Jenn Wright, Vice President for Education at the Nature Center.
The current education space was used for classes before the area formally became the Kalamazoo Nature Center in 1961.
The expansion is the culmination of more than four years of planning and fundraising and is one of four projects that are being funded through a $6.6 million campaign: the Kalamazoo Nature Center Camp, a new Nature’s Way Preschool facility which includes a new building, and grounds, allowing for expansion of programming at the existing site on Oakland Drive and Kilgore, development of community supported agriculture program at the DeLano Farm and creation of the Urban Nature Park, east of the Arcus Depot in downtown Kalamazoo.
The Kalamazoo Nature Center includes 1,100 acres of wooded, rolling countryside five miles north of Kalamazoo.
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Southwest Michigan Second Wave
Source: Jenn Wright, Kalamazoo Nature Center
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