1/12/2007 4:00:00 AM Ultimate green Highlands Center completes natural history building
By JOANNA DODDER
The Daily Courier
PRESCOTT Highlands Center for Natural History employees were so happy to finally move into their new James Learning Center building this week that they found themselves literally howling with joy.
It's a huge change from the tiny trailer they were stuck in for awhile, until it got so cold their computers wouldn't even work.
The James Learning Center is the final major addition to the Highland Center's new 80-acre Lynx Creek Site nestled in the Prescott National Forest just west of Lynx Lake. It also features an amphitheater, outdoor restrooms and nature trails that have been on site for more than a year.
With the new building comes many new opportunities for people to learn about the Central Highlands that surround them.
"This whole spring is really booked with brand new things," Highlands Center for Natural History Executive Director Nichole Trushell said.
She calls it an "opening season" versus an "opening day."
The new Nature Nuts and Knee High Naturalists kids clubs will start Jan. 20 and continue on the third Saturdays of the month. They'll use hands-on science to teach children about the wonders of nature.
For the adults, the Highlands Center will begin its new "Beyond the Basics" series of adult education classes in March.
The public events inside the building kick off with the 13th year of Natural History Series classes that start Feb. 8.
People can register for these clubs and classes now by calling 776-9550.
Some of the learning will center around the building itself, since it meets stringent "green" standards. A green curriculum will incorporate that real-life example.
The Highlands Center staff will be surprised if the building doesn't end up meeting some level of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standard.
The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for environmentally friendly design, construction and operation.
The James Learning Center includes passive solar design and more than 50 solar panels; log supports and rock walls created from materials in the surrounding Prescott National Forest and New Mexico; in-floor heating with concrete floors colored by soy-based stain; trellises to hold up vines that will provide natural shade; and a butterfly-style roof that directs rain and snowmelt toward native outdoor plants.
Relaxing colors, a variety of texture and plenty of windows will make areas such as the 100-seat classroom and nature store pleasing places to hang out. The building will also feature a reference library for members, noted Outreach Coordinator Cindy Scott.
Nearly all the companiesinvolved in the construc-tion of the $1.4 million building were local, Trushell said.
"There's just a lot of great heart in this building," she said. "People cared."
Artistic touches give the outdoor area a unique look beyond the unusual building. For example, local artist Royce Carlson incorporated recycled steel in the railing. His metal "rain funnel" on the east side funnels rain onto a rock wall to create a waterfall, and then a drain takes that water on down to more outdoor plants.
Trushell's husband Steve Morgan, a landscape architect, created a hole in the deck with a basin underneath it so an aspen can grace the west side of the Learning Center.
Prescott students even got in on the act. They painted colorful native animals on tiles featured on the walls of the outdoor bathroom facility.
Some finishing touches are yet to come.
Artist Heather Johnson has created a large bronze sculpture entitled "Equipoise" that will stand prominently next to the Learning Center. The Highlands Center will unveil it March 23 during a special donor preview event.
An arboretum will feature the native plants that the Highlands Center will sell during an April 28event that will offer twice as many plants as the highly successful first sale last year. The plants in the arboretum will be grouped into areas such as a butterfly garden and Firewise garden.
"It all ties together so nicely," Trushell said.
She paused a moment to think about how long she and her staff have been working on this project. She first approached the Prescott National Forest about the cooperative venture 12 years ago.
"It's an exercise in perseverance," she said.
Contact the reporter at jdodder@prescottaz.com
Reader Comments
Posted: Friday, January 12, 2007
Article comment by:
Sharon Petz
Thank you for the wonderfully informative article on the Highlands Center for Natural History. May I piggyback on Nichole Trushell's comment that "there is a lot of great heart in this building." There is indeed so much love and caring infused into every aspect of making this dream a reality. It is this same infusion of caring that directs their programs as well. I really encourage the public to come and see for themselves what a great gift the Highlands Center for Natural History is to the surrounding communities.
Sharon Petz
Member, Highlands Center for Natural History Board of Directors
