Construction was slated to begin this week on a $1.3 million event pavilion at the Environmental Learning Center that is the centerpiece of the organization’s multimillion-dollar, master-planned expansion.

The expansion is intended to “reinvent” the highly popular nature center, elevating it “to the next level, as a major, regional environmental education resource,” said Environmental Learning Center Executive Director Barbara Ford.

“This is a real game-changer for the ELC,” said Environmental Learning Center Board Chair Don Barr.

There was a COVID-condensed groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for the Thomas R. Schidel Education and Event Pavilion, named for the local businessman and inventor whose $1-million donation jumpstarted the pavilion project. Construction was set to begin with removal of a spongy layer of soil that will be replaced with solid soil so foundation work can start. Ford said the project “should be done by the end of 2021.”

The ELC’s  64-acre riverside campus is located at the western base of the Wabasso Bridge on the south side of the 510 Causeway. The 2,500-square-foot pavilion and adjacent 9,000-square-foot grassy oval will be built northeast off the entrance road, on the grassy expanse where the Laura Riding Jackson homestead once stood.

With a capacity of up to 1,100 people, the pavilion complex will accommodate large events and concerts, and can be rented for private occasions.

It will include a multi-purpose outdoor classroom and event space/stage that can seat 80-100 people; indoor and outdoor kitchen areas; a live oak-ringed grass oval able to accommodate up to 1,000 guests; and a restroom with showers.

Ford noted that there will be “ample space for attendees to distance comfortably for any number of public or private gatherings.”

The project team – local firms chosen from numerous applicants – includes Mike O’Neil of Barth Construction; John Blum of Carter and Associates Engineers; John Binkley of EDB Architects; Robin Pelensky of Surlaterre Landscape Architects; and David Cox, consultant.

Barr says discussion of the expansion plan began “five or six years ago,” and a concept drawing of the entire campus was created at that time. However, the journey through the permitting process took “much longer” than anticipated, and the advent of COVID-19 last year slowed the project further.

At the groundbreaking, board vice-chair John Daniels called the project “the first significant step forward in realizing the vision set out in the Campus Master Plan several years ago to transform our unique Wabasso Island Campus into a more compelling place for environmental education, science, human and environmental health, and nature experiences for all ages.”

 Daniels recalled his first meeting with Schidel, early in 2019.  Schidel had learned about the ELC’s plans and asked how he could help. The ELC could use a couple of canoes, he was told.

That wasn’t quite what Schidel had in mind. “Are you going to build something?” he asked. After studying the concept, said Daniels, Schidel decided “the pavilion was a good place to start,” and donated $1 million to build it.

As guest of honor at the groundbreaking, Schidel was “thrilled that this project has been given the go-ahead.” He called the pavilion and oval “a full-circle venture commemorating my deep affinity for nature, and I hope it brings joy to all who experience it.”

Schidel is an accomplished artist, creating dynamic collages from various items found in nature. One of his pieces, said Ford, is on display at the Center.

County Commissioner Joe Earman called the project “exciting – a wonderful place on the lagoon,” and predicted, as the ELC grows to the next level, “in the next few years, it will definitely become a major destination.”

While waiting for the project to get underway, ELC staff, volunteers and supporters have been improving existing programs, adding new ones and focusing on fundraising.

In that vein, Ford announced that “loyal donors Tim and Carol Buhl have offered up to a $50,000 match donation for any funds raised from the public now through the end of the ELC’s fiscal year June 30.”