Construction has begun on Civic Garden Center's Green Learning Station, an interactive, state-of-the-art learning laboratory for sustainable living practices.

Located on the center's grounds at in Avondale, the $1.2 million project will serve as a "sustainability demonstration project", educating and inspiring students, home builders, developers, public officials, and the general public about sustainable practices by demonstrating green systems and technologies that are affordable and can be accomplished at home.

"The Board of the Civic Garden Center identified the need for the Green Learning Station more than two years ago," said Betsy Townsend, a volunteer and chair of the Green Learning Station committee for the Civic Garden Center. "Since then we have been diligently working to bring the project to fruition."

Formerly the site of a SOHIO gas station acquired by the Civic Garden Center in 1987, the 20,000-square-foot lot will be transformed with the addition of pervious paving, rainwater harvesting units and bio swales, and photovoltaic panels.

Three types of green roofs will be installed. A fourth green roof, the first sloped green roof in the region, is already growing on the site's stone cottage.

Educational components will be spread throughout the center's grounds and the adjacent Hauck Botanical Gardens, including a backyard organic vegetable garden and a compost education center.


Hands-on learning

The Green Learning Station will be open to the public for tours, workshops, and classes. A sophisticated, real-time monitoring system will collect data about the performance of green storm water management practices, designed to lessen the flow of runoff into the City's aging combined sewer system.

Program manager Ryan Mooney-Bullock also is developing an on-site and in-school curriculum for middle and high school students in which students will be challenged to conduct experiments and solve urban environmental problems.

The station, scheduled to open next spring, is seeking LEED Gold certification.

HGC Construction is serving as the general contractor. Architecture services have been provided by SFA Architects and Martin Koepke Design.

Images courtesy of Civic Garden Center/Topic Design.

Previous "Civic Garden Center" stories on BC:
Civic Garden Center to lease 18 parcels from City (7/6/10)
First Lady in town for groundbreaking of green demonstration project (5/3/10)