In March of 2021, the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA) education team (General Manager Brian Kemp, Manager Nicole Hamley and the team of Outdoor Educators), sat down and began a detailed review of the conceptual design and the alignment with the future of outdoor education at Scanlon Creek Conservation Area. Since the conceptual design of the new Nature Centre was provided back in April of 2017 by Brook McIlroy, a lot has changed. The complement of Outdoor Education staff, current and planned outdoor education programming and even trends in outdoor education. All of this and more needed to be reviewed when considering a final design.

 

Conceptual design provided back in April of 2017 by Brook McIlroy.

 

The March discussion determined the specific requirements needed of the new building to both sustain the education program today and how it will help grow and diversify it into the future. The group compiled a list of “must haves”, “would be nice”, and “no longer required” items. Some of the “must haves” included three classrooms (two fixed, one flexible); stable, reliable, hard-wired internet; dedicated first aid-room and janitorial closet, etc. All points were included in a summary report and this report, along with internal discussions (charrettes), will help inform the final design.

Take Virtual Tour of Current Nature Centre

Nature Centre Tour

The virtual tour provides a 360 perspective of the current Nature Centre at Scanlon Creek.

Next Steps

With the summary report complete, the next step is to confirm the final architect selection. To do this, Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority is utilizing a procurement specialist (consultant) to develop an RFP for architectural services to prepare a final design, permit drawings and tender documents. The goal is bring this to the LSRCA Board of Directors at the September 24, 2021 meeting.

Green and Inclusive Community Buildings grant

While this work continues, the internal task team at the Authority continues to collaborate on pulling together the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings (GIBC) grant, with help from the Foundation. The Green and Inclusive Community Buildings (GICB) program is a national merit-based program with the objective of improving the availability and condition of community buildings in Canadian communities experiencing higher needs and who are currently underserved. At the same time, the program’s aim is to stimulate the economy, create good job opportunities, and align to the goals of Canada’s strengthened climate plan. The program will advance the Government’s climate priorities by improving energy efficiency, reducing GHG emissions, and enhancing the climate resilience of community buildings.