New Conservation Center Planned At Pony Creek
Mills County Conservation is preparing to build a 6,491 square-foot Environmental Education Center at Pony Creek Park.
The $1 million facility would be owned by Mills County, but managed and occupied by the Mills County Conservation Board.
Mills County Conservation director Jerad Getter said the environmental education center will provide education and serve as a valuable resource for both adults and children.
“The project has the unique opportunity to help showcase Iowa’s newest National Historic Landmark, the Davis Oriole Earthlodge Site, which gained landmark status in October 2012,” Getter said. “The center would serve as an anchor point for those wishing to learn more about the Davis Oriole Site.”
The earthlodge site, buried under several feet of soil, is believed to be around 1,000 years old and inhabited by members of The Glenwood Culture who resided in western Iowa and eastern Nebraska from 900-1300 A.D.
The Mills County Conservation Board was established in 1957 to encourage the orderly development and conservation of natural resources and enhance the cultural and recreational opportunities for Mills County residents.
Over the last five years, Mills County Conservation has increased the land it manages from 511 acres to 1,767 acres. Environmental education programs have also increased from about 100 programs a year with about 3,000 attendees to more than 160 programs a year for about 4,500 participants.
Getter said with the addition of a new environmental education center at Pony Creek, Mills County Conservation would be able to serve a much wider audience.
“Teachers throughout Mills County are looking for outdoor learning opportunities for their students and with this center, Mills County Conservation would be able to accommodate a whole class of students,” he said. “In our current building we can only fit 25-30 people in chairs and that number drops to 18 when tables are needed for a program.
“A new, more inviting building would serve as a central location for the public to visit and learn about all the recreational and nature-related activities that are available to them. Purposes for this center are limitless and very exciting because a facility of this nature has never existed in Mills County before.”
Getter added there are no similar organizations that have a building emphasizing environmental education with a full-time naturalist on-site to facilitate programs.
“Mills County Conservation is best suited to build and maintain an environmental education center because we are funded through tax dollars making our programming available to users at no cost,” Getter said. “As with any of our public areas this project would be available to everyone. No one is excluded from participating in activities sponsored by Mills County Conservation.”
Getter said one of Mills County Conservation’s main environmental education priorities every year is to stay on top of changes to science curriculums at Mills County school districts.
“By constructing a new environmental education center, Mills County Conservation will be able to provide a functional and flexible environmental education space that will allow for a variety of programs,” Getter said. “In the gallery, there will be ample public space for permanent and changing displays for educational exhibits. Our programs will no longer have a participation limit due to the lack of facilities.”
The environmental educational center has been in the planning stages for two years. Portions of the project have already been accomplished. Currently, Getter said, the board is in the fundraising phase and has secured around $900,000 of the $1,074,000 needed for the project.
Before new construction was ever considered, Getter, two contractors and a local architect evaluated the current conservation building and investigated adding on.
“Our current building is a Trachte storage building with a finished inside,” Getter said. “It is 21 years old and is 1,152 square feet, which includes offices for three full-time staff, meeting room, unisex bathroom and storage space The building was built when Mills County Conservation had one full-time employee and managed about 400 acres of ground and the thought of doing environmental programs for schools or the public was non-existent.”
Getter said the useful life of the current building is running out and problems are becoming persistent.
“Mills County Conservation and our educational programming have outgrown the building and it cannot accommodate the needs that are bestowed upon it,” he said. “With the age of the current building and the knowledge that it is a “tin” storage facility with a finished inside it was determined that new construction would be the most responsible approach to addressing the needs of the conservation board.”
Getter said he encourages Mills County residents with questions about the project to call his office at 527-9685.