The Whittier Peninsula is located just south of downtown Columbus. Audubon Ohio has built a nature center that will provide vital educational services to central Ohio – especially the city of Columbus and its public schools. Audubon increases environmental awareness through education, but also will provides cross-curricular nature-based education designed to improve the academic performance of students and schools in all areas.The Grange Insurance Audubon Center is the first in the country to be built so close to the heart of a major city- only one mile from downtown Columbus. It is the focus of a major urban reclamation and redevelopment project that involves Audubon, the City of Columbus, and Franklin County Metro Parks. The facility will be located within a new public park, The Scioto Audubon Metro Park, on the Scioto River.
The center will act as a community gathering place for those who live and work downtown, as well as everyone in the Central Ohio area.
The Audubon Center will also serve as a model for sustainable design thereby promoting the economic, health and aesthetic benefits of green building. Students and visitors alike will learn first-hand the benefits of “going green.” Plans for the Center depict a green facility of 18,000 net usable square feet built with recycled construction materials. Heating and Cooling will be provided by alternative energy sources.
http://grange.audubon.org/
Where you see the water tower there was once a large Lazarus Warehouse where we bought our Amana refrigerator. The warehouse primarily housed furniture and electronics and stored department store displays. This is located close to downtown Columbus and we are excited about having this in an urban, somewhat neglected, area. The City of Columbus has yet to move their impound lot from the area. When that lot is cleared and environmental concerns are addressed, the park can expand. If you enlarge the water tower photo, you can see where a climbing wall is under construction.
The Grange Insurance Audubon Center is an agent of conservation. The Scioto Audubon Metro Park is housed in the Sioto River-Greenlawn Important Bird Area (IBA). This designation requires us to protect and enhance the ecosystem to sustain critical bird species.
http://grange.audubon.org/About_Conservation.html
Patterns on the glass hopefully will deter birds from collisions.
Approaching the building, the rain from the roof is directed in several ways to rain gardens or wet areas with water loving plants. Large rocks provide stepping stones over the ponds, but the park is handicap accessible. The red-orange downspouts funnels the water underneath the sidewalk to the retention pond.
Egrets and great blue heron fish.
A bike path runs between the river and the building.
One person biked there from Clintonville.
I don't know much about bike trails, but there is an interesting website at:
http://www.bikely.com/listpaths/country/254/region/157/city/10278
A large mulberry tree was saved providing great shade.
A number of groups were invited to participate at the opening.
Franklin Park Conservatory focused on edible gardens with samples of sprouts.
Columbus Audubon focused on habitat and the work they do.
SWACO provided recycling information.
OSU Chadwick Arboretum & Learning Gardens set up was in a windy, remote spot but our tent shaded us from the sun. We laid the display on the table as the wind kept blowing it over. Information was available on the arboretum and gardens and samples of coleus to pot up provided hands on activity. I worked the Saturday afternoon shift.
Next to us - Franklin County Master Gardeners set up. Even with tie downs, it blew down.
Friends of the Scioto River set up a display, but I neglected to capture it. I was distracted by their recycled pencils, fossils and mollusks.
A chain directs rain water to the rocks.
Metro Parks had children's activities on a shaded deck.
Recycled plastic Adirondack rockers for the deck.
The downspout directs rain to a small pond.
A bird feeder near the pond is a lookout spot from viewers inside.
The ceiling is decorated with birds to know.
A site map indicated ecologically sustainable areas of focus to serve as an educational tool for visitors. Of course the green building was user friendly and educational itself.
Green design focused on a number of energy construction features.
The Audubon store was inviting.
Nice classrooms! AV friendly and a catering kitchen!
This rain garden is the largest I've seen to date.
Parking lots had pervious pavement, a large rain garden between them and signage indicating who could park in the closest spots.
What a great place to take visitors and show off our great new Columbus addition!
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