As the number of students, teachers, and citizens who attend environmental education and public outreach programs at Stroud™ Water Research Center has grown significantly in recent years, a new outdoor teaching space was added to its wish list. Now that dream has become a reality. Rittenhouse Builders are putting the finishing touches on the construction of an education pavilion that provides protection from the elements while still having direct access to nature and White Clay Creek, the research stream that flows through the Stroud Center campus.
A New Outdoor Space With Sustainable Features
In 2018, the education department engaged more children and adults in face-to-face programs than in any previous year: about 8,500, up from about 1,800 in 2015.
Education Director Steve Kerlin, Ph.D., said, “The pavilion adds a fourth outdoor space and is the only one that is covered, which will allow our educators to keep class sizes small even when there is a group as large as 120 students — what we affectionately refer to as a swarm. Other learning activities take place in and around our LEED® Platinum green building, along the trails, in planted forest areas, and sometimes in the stream.”
The pavilion has electricity so that students can plug in microscopes and compare what they see to what an educator shows them using a projector and screen. A metal roof protects against rain, sun, and wind. Ceiling fans circulate air on hot days. Sliding doors on the south side also protect occupants from the weather and will block distractions from the parking lot. Sustainable features such as a rain chain instead of gutters and permeable brick walkways instead of cement sidewalks allow rainwater to absorb into the ground rather than wash across the landscape.
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- The education pavilion provides protection from the elements while still having direct access to nature and White Clay Creek.
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- The addition of the pavilion brings the number of outdoor education spaces to four, including the outdoor classroom pictured here.
Scout-Crafted Tables and Benches
Eagle Scout Sean McLaughlin Jr. led the design and construction of six eight-foot tables and 24 four-foot benches for his Eagle Scout project. With help from his dad, a contractor, McLaughlin designed the tables and benches to meet accessibility requirements. He then, over two weekends, led a crew of volunteers, including fellow scouts from Downingtown Troop 23, to build the tables and benches out of cedar.
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- Sean McLaughlin Jr. (center) led a crew of volunteers, including fellow scouts from Downingtown Troop 23, to build cedar tables and benches for the pavilion.
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- Girl Scouts from Brownie Troop #41554 and Daisy Troop #04443 added paintings of macroinvertebrates you might find in nearby White Clay Creek.
Executive Director Dave Arscott, Ph.D., said, “The pavilion will not only aid in education programs, but it will also serve as a multi-use space for Boy and Girl Scout overnight environmental education trips, as well as for groups attending lectures or workshops as part of our freshwater research and watershed restoration public outreach.”
Congratulations to Sean McLaughlin Jr. on earning Eagle Scout rank. McLaughlin graduated from Downingtown High School East and is a U.S. Marines recruit.
The Stroud Center gratefully acknowledges the following donors, whose generous support made this project possible:
- Davenport Family Foundation
- Marmot Foundation
- E. Kneale Dockstader Foundation and Arthur Hall Insurance (for materials for the tables and benches)
We would also like to thank our architectural team for providing in-kind donations or a reduced fee:
- Bernardon Associates Architects (architectural designer)
- Meliora Environmental Design, Inc. (permitting and stormwater design)
- Lawrence R. Baker Jr., P.E., Baker, Ingram & Associates (structural engineer)
- Rittenhouse Builders, Inc. (builder)
Help Make Projects Like This Possible
You too can help make projects like this possible by donating to our Special Gifts Fund. Please contact Executive Director David Arscott, Ph.D.
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- The Davenport Family Foundation is a longtime supporter of the Stroud Center. It generously donated to the education wing in the Moorhead Environmental Complex and in 2018 made possible the purchase of a truck for our watershed restoration efforts.
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- In a generous 2017-2018 gift-in-kind partnership, Rittenhouse Builders provided vital renovations of the outdoor isotope laboratory to enhance the mission and research efforts of the Stroud Center.
