Audubon has big plans for Succop
PENN TWP — Big changes are planned for the Succop Nature Park, 185 W. Airport Road, as the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania goes public with a capital campaign to mark the organization’s 100th anniversary and kick off a schedule of improvements at the park.
“We want to increase the visibility of the property and make it welcoming. We want people to come and use it, ”said Chris Kubiak, director of education for the Audubon Society. “It’s free. We’ve got 50 acres of woods, ponds, lots of birds. It’s a jewel in a lot of ways.”
“It’s a $7 million capital campaign that is just getting started,” in its public phase, said Kubiak. “Sixty two percent of it has been raised from grants from private foundations and companies when we were in the quiet phase.”
“We want to ask the public, particularly here in Butler to support this project,” said Kubiak.
Jim Bonner, executive director of the society, said, “The $7 million involves physical improvements at all three of our locations, of which Succop Nature Park is one. The first will be the renovation of the barn.”
Bonner said the 1886-era barn “is going to be converted into an environmental learning center with classrooms, meeting rooms and other amenities.”
“It’s really a neat barn. We haven’t put it to any use,” said Kubiak. “We’re going to turn that into classrooms and nature programming and have a nature store there that will feature bird seed, bird houses and bird feeders, similar to what we have at Beechwood Farm,” the society’s headquarters and nature preserve in Allegheny County.
“It will enhance environmental education in Butler County. It will help the experience of connecting with birds and nature,” Kubiak said. The barn project is expected to begin late this year or early next year.
One of the improvements to the barn will be the installation of a wind turbine system to provide clean energy to its future classrooms and nature store.
Kubiak said all the components of the WindStax wind power system have been purchased.
“We’re going to get it installed relatively soon,” said Kubiak.
Bonner said, “We got the money from the West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund. We had been thinking about adding a silo or a water tower to the barn on top of the addition that will house restrooms and a new entryway. The turbine can go on top of the addition.”
Bonner said, “Actual construction is dependent on funding, but we hope to begin in early 2017. We have already been making improvements to preliminary things that have to be done before heavy construction.”
The society earlier this year announced plans to partner with Buffalo Township on the creation of a $1 million park that would be opened adjacent to the Todd Nature Reserve and contain a new nature center near the Buffalo-Freeport Trail.
Bonner said the fundraising campaign has reached the $4.5 million mark. The society hopes to raise $500,000 from the general public, with the remainder coming from businesses and foundations.
People can go to the website aswp.org and click on the link to the capital campaign to donate.
The campaign will pay for other improvements planned for Succop in the near future.
In 2017, Kubiak hopes to add an off-leash dog park, nature play area and pond boardwalk to the nature park.
“It all depends on the public helping us finish the last leg of this fundraising,” said Kubiak.
