Help give sustainability a new home
Chippewa Nature Center
Visitor Center Expansion

Donate online or download a pledge card


Read the press release | See more expansion renderings

• If you want to make a difference, start here
• Help make green building concepts a reality
• Creating sustainable value for our state and region
• Making a difference since 1966

• School districts served
• Six good reasons to support a 
  new home for CNC
• Join with others to give sustainability 
  a new home
• You can make a lasting difference 
  in our world

If you want to make a difference, but you're not sure where to start, 
start here.
We’re building a new home for Chippewa Nature Center, a home where we will help create a sustainable future for our children and our world. It will be a bright and welcoming place for education and play, a regional center for lifelong learning, a demonstration center for green living and a destination for people of all ages from Michigan and beyond. In the fall of 2008, Chippewa Nature Center will begin a comprehensive renovation and expansion of the Visitor Center and surrounding area. The LEED™ certified building will be completed in 2009, creating a model of sustainability for our region for decades to come. With your support, Chippewa Nature Center can play an even greater role as a regional resource for nature education, hands-on experience and personal engagement in protecting the natural world.

LEED™, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a trademark of the U.S. Green Building Council

You can help make green building concepts a reality.
The many environmentally sustainable features of the new Chippewa Nature Center will include:

1. A “butterfly” roof design to collect rainwater and channel it into a cistern for use in rain gardens and ponds

2. A green roof designed to collect rainwater, produce oxygen and insulate the building

3. Photovoltaic cells to generate electricity from sunlight

4. Rain gardens and bio-swales to filter runoff from parking lots and rooftops

5. A building designed to provide abundant natural light and ventilation

6. Use of sustainable and local materials and fixtures throughout

These features will provide long-term sustainability for the Center, by reducing the use of energy and water and protecting the surrounding environment.

Creating sustainable value for our state and region
In a time of cutbacks in state funding of educational and environmental services, the many unique features of the redesigned Chippewa Nature Center will bring added dimension to its role as an educational and recreational resource. The new facility will enhance the contributions of Chippewa Nature Center to our region and the State of Michigan in the following ways:

• Increase the capacity to deliver curriculum-based environmental education to students throughout our region and beyond.

• Enable the expansion of Nature Preschool, an early childhood educational program and one of only 13 nature preschools in the country affiliated with a nature center.

• Attract additional visitors from throughout Michigan and the Midwest, enhancing the reputation and economic growth of our region.

• Increase onsite and offsite programming to serve greater numbers of adults and families seeking to learn, exercise, enjoy, reflect and engage with nature first hand.

• Serve as an information resource for addressing environmental issues.

• Provide our region with rental opportunities for gatherings of up to 300 people in natural surroundings.

• Create a showcase of environmentally sound design and architecture that can be used to educate and inspire others to build sustainably.

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Making a difference since 1966
For over 40 years, Chippewa Nature Center programs and staff have had a lasting impact on many lives through Nature Day Camp, Fall Harvest Festival, Maple Syrup Day, backpacking and kayaking trips, school programs and much more.

Our 2006-2007 program participants included:

• 18,000 students from 34 school districts throughout mid-Michigan

• Students from 55 parochial schools

• Home-schooled students

• Thousands of adults and families from throughout the region

• 700 volunteers

• Dozens of regional partners in research, wellness, environmental stewardship, leadership development, and recreational activities and events

• Approximately 1,700 member households

Our current facilities can no longer accommodate our programs and our growing numbers of staff, programs, visitors and events. Our goal is to build a sustainable infrastructure that will allow us to serve our region now and well into the future, and  serve as a demonstration site for sustainable building practices in our region.

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• Akron Fairgrove

• Alma

• Ashley

• Bangor Township

• Bay City

• Bay Arenac Intermediate

• Beal City

• Birch Run

• Bullock Creek

• Chesaning Union Schools

• Chippewa Hills

• Clare

• Coleman

• Essexville-Hampton

• Farwell

• Frankenmuth

• Freeland

• Gladwin

• Hemlock

• Iosco-Oscoda

• Ithaca

• Pinconning

• Reese

• Saginaw City

• Meridian

• Merrill

• Midland

• Mt. Pleasant

• New Lothrup

• Saginaw Township

• Shepherd

• St. Louis

• Standish-Sterling

• Swan Valley

Richard Louv, author of “Last Child in the Woods:
Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder”

Six good reasons to support a new home for Chippewa Nature Center.

#1 It’s good for our children.
An early childhood connection with the natural world opens minds and hearts to a lifelong love and respect for the outdoors and the joys that can be found there. To preserve and protect the environment that sustains us and our fellow creatures, we must share its wonders with our children.

#2 It’s good for our quality of life.
Whether we visit to hike, ski, bird watch, kayak or simply sit quietly and shake off the stress of the day, Chippewa Nature Center provides a natural environment in which to exercise our bodies, relax our minds and refresh our spirits. The 1,200 acres of trails, woods and wetlands is an oasis in the midst of our busy lives, a place to reconnect with ourselves and connect with others. The renovated Visitor Center will enhance these experiences tremendously.

#3 It’s good for our region.
The increasingly diverse population and economy of mid-Michigan will benefit significantly from the environmental and educational resources available at Chippewa Nature Center. Our leadership in environmentally sound design will draw attention and visitors to the area, and our increased capacity for regional partnerships with educators, university researchers, corporations and non-profits will support innovation throughout mid-Michigan.

#4 It’s good for Michigan.
Michigan is already in the top 10 of all states in LEED™ certified buildings. The new Chippewa Nature Center will double the number of LEED™ buildings in the Saginaw Valley from one to two. It will also encourage tourism, support economic development and increase the attractiveness of Michigan as a place to work, live and invest.

#5 It’s good for our changing world.
As our economy and our environment undergo changes, Chippewa Nature Center can play a key role in helping us understand how to adapt to sustainable ways of living. From landscaping with native plants to composting waste to applying sustainable building techniques, Chippewa Nature Center can act as both an information resource and a neutral meeting place for citizens interested in discussing issues such as climate change. The more we know, the more we can do to make a difference.

#6 It’s a good opportunity to “walk the talk.”
Speaking of making a difference, your contribution to expand Chippewa Nature Center is a perfect way to demonstrate your commitment to protecting the natural world and to connect that commitment to the education and inspiration of thousands of others.

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You can make a lasting difference in our world.
There are many ways to support the building of a sustainable new home for Chippewa Nature Center:

• Mail in your donation. Details of the various levels of support are available on a pledge card.

• Make a credit card donation online or by phone at 989.631.0830.

• Contact us for more information about a variety of memorial and recognition naming opportunities for key building features.
  

  Learn more about the project by attending one of three upcoming “Project Previews,” each taking place at 7 p.m.: 

  • Monday, February 18 (CNC’s Annual Meeting)
  • Tuesday, March 18
  • Wednesday, April 16, 2008. 

  We will present details on the expansion and offer the opportunity for you to ask questions.
  
  Community support for this project is crucial, and there are many ways to become involved:
  
  • A three-dimensional nature mural featuring native plants and animals will be created by Midland artist Jim Ardis for display in the lobby of the new Chippewa Nature Center. Donors who select this giving option will have their names displayed as a permanent part of the nature mural according to the amount of their contribution.

  • Those who would like to be a permanent part of the Rain Garden Terrace will be recognized on paver bricks. Three sizes of bricks can be engraved with your choice of message. See the enclosed brochure for more details.
  
  • There are more opportunities to sponsor specific features of Chippewa Nature Center’s new home, such as its fireplace area, new classrooms and green roof, among others.

Donate online or download a pledge card

If your group or organization would like to learn more about the Chippewa Nature Center sustainable building project and how you can help, contact us to schedule a presentation at your next meeting by calling 989.631.0830 or sending your request to info@chippewanaturecenter.org.

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