COMING SOON
A new Environmental Education Building is coming to life at the Kreher Preserve & Nature Center!
This incredible new building will be a hub for the community – a place for rest and relaxation, education and wonder, recreation and leisure, and fellowship and connection – both to one another and to nature, itself!
The Environmental Education Building is currently under construction. Watch this page, sign up for our newsletter, and follow us on Facebook for updates and information.
For information about construction site impact and traffic flow, please click here.
Integrated with Nature
The Environmental Education Building will be nestled into the landscape with minimal impact on the ecosystem. Tree-save zones have been established and the design has maintained a strong sensitivity to the wildlife that call the Nature Center home. When completed, the building will be in balance with the forest around it and when inside the building, you’ll feel a part of the forest and not separated from it.
Built of Cross-laminated Timber
A showcase for cross-laminated timber (CLT) and other mass timber products, this new building will be an example of one of the fastest growing construction materials in the world. Support from industry leaders includes the design by world-renown CLT architects Leers Weinzapfel Associates out of Boston, MA and mass timber supplied by SmartLam North America‘s new location in Dothan, AL. Timber will be sourced right here in Alabama and will largely consist of Southern Yellow Pine.
CLT is increasingly popular in modern construction for its combination of structural integrity, sustainability, and efficiency. Unlike concrete and steel, it is a renewable resource and sequesters carbon, making it a significantly eco-friendly building material. It is also lightweight and prefabricated allowing greater precision in manufacturing, reduction in on-site waste, and an overall faster and more efficient construction process. In addition, CLT panels exhibit excellent thermal performance and fire resistance, and are absolutely beautiful!
Home to Woodland Wonders Nature Preschool
The Environmental Education Building will feature two classrooms, one for our Woodland Wonders Nature Preschool providing opportunities for future expansion including options like kindergarten! It will also feature a Discovery Corridor providing engaging environmental education and a permanent home for our animal ambassadors where they will be visible to our visitors!
Hub for Programming
The Kreher Preserve & Nature Center hosts tens of thousands of students of all ages each year and the Environmental Education Building will substantially enhance all the environmental and nature-based education, classes, workshops, events, programs, and field trips that so many in our community love. From top-of-the-line technology resources to pervasive educational and interpretive displays and assets, this building will take KPNC programming to the next level!
Best Outdoor Resource in the Region
With big, beautiful portals that blur the lines between indoors and outdoors, and all the modern amenities and conveniences you expect, the Environmental Education Building will be one of the area’s best venues for all types of activities and gatherings. From rental opportunities like weddings and reunions, to just hanging out under the trees with a good book, our entire community will love this new addition!
Initial funding for the project was provided by the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment, in support of the growing CLT industry, but WE NEED YOUR HELP TO FINISH THIS PROJECT! With your support, we will be able to add additional classroom space and decking (already in the design), furniture and technology, educational supplies, and improved native landscaping. Please help us finish this project.
Naming Opportunities
Environmental Education Building (4000 square feet)
$1,000,000 A one-of-a-kind, award-winning, masterpiece of design, lovingly integrated into the Kreher forest. This building is nothing like anything else on the Auburn University campus. Designed to showcase the revolutionary new building material, cross-laminated timber, and provide interactive nature-based education and live animal displays, this building will host tens of thousands of visitors each year.
Multi-purpose Classroom (973 square feet)
$200,000 The Multi-purpose Classroom will provide essential environmental education classroom space nestled into the natural surroundings of the Kreher forest. This space will provide critical resources needed for a variety of nature-based lessons for all ages, making the classroom easy to use for homeschoolers, grade school teachers, vocational instructors, and college professors. This space will also provide one of the best nature-themed rental venues in the region!
Preschool Classroom (933 square feet)
$125,000 The Preschool Classroom will be the base of operations for Woodland Wonders Nature Preschool. The space will provide needed storage resources and a central hub for all nature preschool classes and camps, as well as meeting accessibility and sensory needs. Woodland Wonders is one of the first nature preschools in Alabama and aims to be the first to be certified as an Alabama First Class Preschool!
Courtyard (1500 square feet)
$100,000 The Courtyard will be a popular outdoor learning center for Woodland Wonders Nature Preschool students, students on field trips from local schools, and students of all ages from the community. Many nature-based learning tools will fill the space such as vegetable container gardens, examples of water mitigation, native plants and pollinators, and much more!
Discovery Corridor (731 square feet)
$100,000 Open from dawn to dusk, every day, for free, the Discovery Corridor will be the region’s newest nature interpretation center! The KPNC’s live animal collection will be on display for visitors to see and learn from, in addition to extensive and evolving educational and interpretive displays about all aspects of the natural environment.
Teacher’s Lounge / Workroom (215 square feet)
$50,000 A good education starts with good teachers, and these incredible people cannot be successful without a place to decompress and organize their thoughts. The Teacher’s Lounge will combine the relaxation that comes from large portals through to the natural environment with critical resources that make it possible to do the good work of teaching upcoming generations!
Native Rain Gardens (0.5 acres)
$50,000 Building, full of serene hideaways, educational opportunities, and examples of native gardens. The landscaping will be designed to use rain from the building in the most effective way possible, to minimize waste and provide nourishment to the land. With available wi-fi throughout, it will be a wonderful place to study, read, or just relax and enjoy nature!
Nature Trail (0.15 miles)
$50,000 The accessible nature trail that passes in front of the new Environmental Education Building will welcome every visitor to the KPNC. It will be surrounded with beautiful, native plantings, educational and interpretive signage, and will serve as the keystone for getting the most out of every visit to the Nature Center!
Pledges may be made in installments.
Donor Wall
$10,000 Visionary
$5,000 Naturalist
$2,500 Preserver
$1,000 Steward
Pledges may be made in installments. Tax-deductible donations of any amount are appreciated and can be made by clicking the button below.
Please call (334) 844-2791 or email vannhea@auburn.edu to talk to our Development Office about naming opportunities, donor wall opportunities, or any other questions you might have about this project!
