任务
约翰T. 休斯顿-博士. 约翰D. Brumbaugh 自然中心 provides and supports opportunities for enjoying and learning about our natural and cultural heritage.
The three principal audiences served by our mission include:
- Mount Union students: to support and enhance the education of all students attending Mount Union, emphasizing the general areas of ecology and environmental science
- School and Youth Groups: to provide a resource in environmental education for public, 私人, and parochial schools and other organized youth groups, including field trips and teacher/leader enhancement programs
- Community: to promote an interest and awareness of environmental and ecological topics among the public
历史
In ancient times, a vast ocean covered the area that is now the 休斯顿-Brumbaugh 自然中心. Thick deposits of sediments built up on the floor of this ocean and plants and animals were trapped in the sand and mud. 今天, we sit on top of thousands of feet of sedimentary rocks including limestone, 页岩, 煤炭, 和砂岩. 在这些沉积物中可以找到石油和天然气. 最近, 从地质学的角度看, thick sheets of ice covered the area that is now northeastern Ohio. As the ice receded, huge animals including wooly mammoths inhabited the area. 几乎在同一时间, 第一批人类进入了这个地区, 以打猎为生, 收集, 和交易. The first European to move onto the land here was 约翰T. 休斯顿, who began farming this land just before the beginning of the American Civil War.
休斯顿 cleared some of his land for pastures and crops, 建了一个木屋, 最终, 框架住宅. His large bank barn still stands as a testament to the craftsmanship of his day. He kept more than 25 acres of his land as a woodlot and, 今天, we can still find beech trees there that are several centuries old.
The Brumbaugh Center for Environmental Science was established thanks to a gift from Dr. 约翰D. Brumbaugh. Dr. Brumbaugh donated the 109 acres that had been his grandfather's farm to Mount Union College in December of 1986. 农场, 位于华盛顿镇, 斯塔克县, Ohio included old growth and second growth forest and a large bank barn. Dr. Brumbaugh also established a generous endowment to provide for the development of the area as a nature preserve and educational facility. 这处房产被命名为约翰T. 休斯顿-博士. 约翰D. 布伦博自然中心，以纪念. 布伦博和他的祖父约翰·休斯顿. 是博士. Brumbaugh's wish that the area be used as a nature preserve for the education and enjoyment of all people and that the area be developed in such a way as to lead visitors into an exploration of the outside environment. 博士的收入. Brumbaugh's endowment was used to build the 访问ors Center (1991) and a connected Bird Observatory (2001). In 2002, the 访问ors Center was expanded by the development of the Elizabeth A. Koch ('58) Environmental Learning Center that includes a classroom, 实验室, 一个办公室, 还有一个图书馆. Dr. Robert Spitzer gave the Koch Center in memory of his wife. In 2003, an additional 32 acres of land were purchased adjacent to the original 休斯顿 Farm. In 2014, 20 more acres adjacent to the east end of the old woods were purchased.
Further opportunities for research and teaching became available with the acquisition of the Ball Research Forest in southern 斯塔克县. 那块24英亩的管理森林, 吉姆和埃斯特·鲍尔买的礼物, includes both coniferous plantations and managed hardwoods. It is located south of the glaciated area and has examples of soils and plants not found at the 自然中心.
今天, the Brumbaugh Center provides support for numerous classes at Mount Union, welcomes thousands of school students to environmental education programs, creates opportunities for hundreds of people to give of themselves as volunteers, and offers a place for reflection and nature study for any who choose to visit.
