West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum will host a program and tour of two of the region’s most exciting conservation projects at its monthly forum luncheon on Monday, August 6, at Blandford Nature Center.
F
eatured speakers are Joseph Engel, Executive Director of The Land Conservancy of West Michigan and Jason Meyer, Executive Director Blandford Nature Center, who will discuss the Highlands Golf Club project and the new Mary Jane Dockeray Visitor Center at Blandford.
The Land Conservancy of West Michigan and Blandford Nature Center are partnering on the purchase and transformation of the 121-acre Highlands Golf Club property into a natural area for community recreation and education, with additional support from The Conservation Fund. A private golf course for over 100 years, the land will now be conserved and protected for the people of Grand Rapids forever. It offers an extraordinary opportunity to foster a stronger connection to the natural world through habitat restoration, environmental education, volunteerism, and recreation—all things that will ensure the City of Grand Rapids is a great place to learn, live, play and work for generations.
Last year, Blandford Nature Center celebrated the opening of its new Mary Jane Dockeray Visitor Center, named after the nature center’s founder, Mary Jane Dockeray, who recently celebrated her 90th birthday in the new auditorium. The visitor center is an 11,000-square-foot, LEED-certified addition to the nature center, that features a lobby, auditorium, outdoor amphitheater, science lab, and an upgraded Wildlife Education Center that houses the center’s wildlife ambassadors. Many of the decorative wood features in the new center came from trees in the nature center harvested as part of the construction process.
The program will feature a walking tour of The Highlands property and time to explore the new Blandford building.
August Forum – The Highlands at Blandford Nature Center:
Land Conservation and Sustainable Construction
Monday, August 6 / 12 to 2 pm
Blandford Nature Center
1715 Hillburn Ave NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
Members: $17 online / $22 at event
Non-members: $22 online / $30 at event
Agenda
11:30 Doors Open
12:00 Lunch
12:30 Introductions and Welcome
12:35 Program
1:20 Tour
2:00 Adjourn
Parking: Available onsite in front of the main visitor center building.