ThisWeek Community Newspapers

Thursday, April 24, 2008

DAVID J. CROSS
ThisWeek Staff Writer

Officials from the Grange Insurance Audubon Center celebrated the groundbreaking for a new facility Tuesday with an Earth Day tree planting.

The 18,000-square foot center, located at Scioto Audubon Metro Park on the Whittier Peninsula, is expected to be completed late spring 2009.

The event also marked the start of the not-for-profit's fundraising campaign. To date public and private donations have contributed about $13-million to the center's $14.5-million goal. The organization is looking to the public to help close the funding gap.

"It's a community thing so the more support we have the better," said Monique Bowman, a spokeswoman for the organization.

Heather Starck, center director, characterized the center as a conservation education facility where urban residents can go to learn about things such as birds or vegetation.

The facility will include a multi-purpose room, library, bird viewing area, nature store, volunteer space, and be within a five-mile radius of 112 schools.

Other attractions the center will feature are gardens, a nature playground and an outdoor amphitheatre. Amenities on the about 80 acre Metro Park will include hiking trails, a bike trail, ponds, wetlands, a boardwalk, a riverside boat ramp, and public picnic and fishing areas.

"The center is going to be the medium for people to go to for nature information," Bowman said.

The facility itself, which will be constructed on the Scioto River-Greenlawn Dam Important Bird Area, is expected to be a green building. The design will be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified and will incorporate recycled building material.

Starck said one draw to the center will be its location near downtown Columbus. She said that once completed, it will preserve a green space near the heart of the city, but also educate people about urban development.

"It's right downtown, so you'll be able to learn about the urban environment and how we effect it," Starck said. "(We) are creating a green space downtown and recapturing that area for the community."

Donations can be made by purchasing a founding membership for $100, a paver for the center walkway for $250 or a commemorative wall stone for $2,500.