The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, led by Chairwoman Susan Bass Levin, broke ground on a new Center for Environmental and Scientific Education on Nov. 28 at NJMC headquarters in Lyndhurst.
In her remarks before an assembled crowd of NJMC commissioners, environmental advocates and educators, Levin, who also serves in the cabinet of Governor Jon Corzine as Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, noted how the new building fits into the overall mission of the NJMC.
“Over 36,000 people pass through our environmental center here,” she said. “We are literally bursting at the seams. This really is an exciting way to grow. Today we start the next chapter, focusing on children and education.”
New building to follow green design plan
The new 10,000 square-foot facility will be an expansion of the NJMC’s Meadowlands Environment Center. It will include classrooms, laboratories, and an observatory with a retractable dome. The center itself will be something of a science project due to the fact that it will be built according to green building design guidelines. These guidelines, set up by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, attempt to minimize the impact of construction on the environment. Categories considered part of the qualification process for LEED certification include sustainability, materials, water management, waste reduction, land use and energy efficiency. Furthermore, green building designs are expected to include additional features such as solar panels and the maximum utilization of natural light.
According to NJMC officials, the new center will cost approximately $5.8 million and is scheduled to be completed by Aug. 2007.
Look, up in the sky
The most notable feature of the new environmental and scientific education center will be the observatory, the only observatory attached to an environmental center in northern New Jersey.
Levin noted that there was logic to putting an observatory in a location that many would see as an unlikely spot.
“Some people may wonder why put an observatory here,” he said. “Astronomy helps us both to look upwards and look at the world around us. We want to make sure that we blend science and technology so that students can learn more so that we can truly look to the skies as we take the next step in the Meadowlands miracle.”
The educational programs at the new center will be run in partnership with Ramapo College. Dr. Peter Mercer, the president of Ramapo, spoke about the importance of science education for the region’s and the nation’s future.
“This center will enable students from kindergarten through college to engage in field and lab studies that will ultimately promote careers in science,” he said. “If you’ve been following the news, there is great concern over the failure of modern American education to engage students at the science and technical level. This center can enable us to change that in the community. I also have to say that the idea of being able to come down here and look out at the sky and at the same time look across and see the Manhattan skyline is really quite lyrical.”
The importance of hands-on education
Among those who came to sing the praises of the new center was Bill Sheehan, the executive director of the Hackensack Riverkeeper organization and a long-time environmental advocate for the Meadowlands. He seconded the underlying theme of Mercer’s comments.
“The environment has always been considered something like an add-on to science curriculums in schools,” he said. “Sometimes the first thing that they jettison are field trips and other forms of experiential learning like boat trips. By putting the science center here, it makes a statement about how important this aspect of education really is. If kids don’t understand the environmental and ecological systems that they live in, how are they ever going to become good stewards for it? This center is a really good use of public money, and I’m here to applaud it.”
“This center is a really good use of public money, and I’m here to applaud it.” – Bill Sheehan