Campus & Community N.C. Botanical Garden inaugurates new “green” education center with fall events
| N.C. Botanical Garden inaugurates new “green” education center with fall events |
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| Tuesday, September 08, 2009 | |
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Expected to be the first public building in North Carolina securing the highest level of certification for green architecture, the new Education Center for the North Carolina Botanical Garden will open later this month. The center’s dedication is scheduled for Oct. 12, University Day, which celebrates the laying of the cornerstone of Old East, the first building at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Education Center, a new gateway to the garden’s nature trails and display gardens, was designed as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum building. The garden’s educational outreach activities and administrative offices will move to the Education Center from the Totten Center, which will remain as the garden’s center for horticultural and conservation activities. The 29,656-square-foot center consists of three buildings connected by covered breezeways. All systems and materials have been designed to minimize environmental impact and support human health and include such technologies as photovoltaic panels, above- and below-ground rainwater cisterns, storm water retention ponds, geothermal heating and air-conditioning, natural day-lighting and low-flow plumbing. Construction materials were obtained from within a 500-mile radius, including lumber milled from the site. There are also many recycled components, such as steel beams made out of scrap metal from automobiles. A new, expanded parking lot with rain-permeable surfaces provides access from Old Mason Farm Road to the center, and new gardens, to be developed over the next two years, will create expanded outdoor spaces. The Education Center’s central wing will welcome visitors as they enter the garden through a large breezeway. In addition to accommodating a large exhibit space, the main floor of this wing includes a gift and bookshop with outdoor plant sales patio and a gallery for botanical art and illustration. Other features are the Green Gardener Room, where visitors can learn about sustainable gardening practices, and a special room for garden volunteers. The east wing of the center offers classroom spaces for schoolchildren, participants in the horticultural therapy program, and others enrolled in workshops and classes. These spaces, together with planned outdoor learning gardens for children and adults, will allow the Botanical Garden to expand services and programs to a larger and more diverse audience. Staff offices occupy the upper floors of the central and east wings. The west wing of the center features the Reeves Auditorium, a large multipurpose space for lectures, conferences and special events. This wing also includes a seminar room and a catering prep area. Funds to help build the $12.5 million center have so far been contributed by more than 500 individuals and from a UNC student-approved fee for renewable energy projects. In 2006, Carolina students awarded the center $210,000 to help construct its geothermal well system. Donations are still being accepted at the garden’s Support the Garden page. Beginning this month, a roster of events will inaugurate the public offerings of the new facility. A partial list of these events appears below. More information on these and other programs, as well as registration instructions, can be found on the garden’s Web site (http://ncbg.unc.edu) under the “Education” tab. Admission and parking at the garden are free. • Through Oct. 28, Up Close and Botanical: Artwork by students of the garden’s Botanical Illustration certificate program. • Sept. 10 and 17, Local Trees: Workshop to identify the common trees of your neighborhood (registration fee required). • Sept. 12 to Nov. 15, Celebrating Life Forces (Sculpture in the Garden exhibition): More than 50 one-of-a kind sculptures by N.C. artists placed amid the native wildflowers and shrubs delight garden visitors for two months. • Sept. 12, Fall Is For Planting: From 9 a.m. to noon, a plant sale with an extensive selection of perennial wildflowers, shrubs, ferns, and vines, all native to the southeastern United States. Sales support the garden’s conservation and educational programs (members’ preview sale the evening before). • Tuesdays, Sept. 15 through Oct. 20, Blazing Stars: After-school nature club for young nature enthusiasts, kindergarten through 1st grade. Explore habitats, trek the trails, discover native plants and animals, play games, conduct experiments, and create nature-inspired art projects (registration fee required). • Sept. 26 through Dec. 21, Notebook Pages From Nature: An exhibit of watercolor studies by N.C. artist Robert Johnson depicting scenes from across the state’s unique ecosystems. • Sept. 25–27, Nature Notes: A weekend workshop with instruction by Johnson in a unique, simple method using pencil and watercolor for taking visual notes while out in nature (registration fee required). • Oct. 10, Nature’s Basement: From 2:30 to 4 p.m., a class for ages 5 and up, with a parent, that offers a closer look at some of the fascinating creatures that live beneath our feet (registration fee required). • Oct. 11, 10th Annual Jenny Fitch Memorial Lecture: At 2 p.m., talk by author and biologist Doug Tallamy on “Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens.” • Oct. 12, Dedication of Education Center: Celebration coincides with University Day. • Oct. 17-18, Photographing Fall Color: A weekend workshop with professional nature photographer Jennifer Weinberg (registration fee required). Photos:  Clerestory windows allow more daylighting at the new Education Center.  The new Education Center consists of three buildings connected by covered breezeways. N.C. Botanical Garden Web site: http://ncbg.unc.edu N.C. Botanical Garden contact: Laura Cotterman, (919) 962-0522, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it News Services contact: Susan Houston, (919) 962-8415, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |