Thanks in part to a grant from the Denali Foundation, Bushy Hill Nature Center is adding a farm classroom.

“This is going to be a great addition to the farm educational program,” said Farm Manager Georgia Male.

While the farm area at the center currently has accessibility issues for those with mobility challenges, the new classroom, which is a 12- by 16-foot Carefree Building, will correct that and additionally provide a warm enclosed space for farm program learning, as well as a small office area for Male.

“The new building is going to be erected next to the pre-school area near the pavilion, which is a centralized location that is easily accessed by all, including summer camp participants,” said Male. “It will have bench seating throughout the interior for both storage and use, and there will be an animal pen attached to the building, so we can bring the animals up, one by one, if we need to, to introduce people to them in a comfortable environment and to be able to separate them when we are working on specific programs, such as grooming, training, and fiber education.”

Currently Bushy Hill’s farm is home to three donkeys, two male goats, a llama, two Vietnamese potbelly pigs, a silver fox rabbit, three female dairy goats (not used for milking), one sheep, and eight chickens. The nature center is considering expanding the sheep herd and the flock of chickens sometime soon.

During the next few weeks, the building site will be prepared, with help from the center’s maintenance team. The goal is to have the building in place within the next five weeks, so it can be prepared and used for programs this spring.

“This project is possible in part because of the support and dedication of the local community and we are so grateful,” said Bushy Hill Nature Center Director Jen Malaguti. “We are always looking for ways to enhance our programs here and make them friendlier and easily accessible for all, so we are all very excited about this new classroom and how it will add to our farm education program.”

Once the building is up and ready for use, Bushy Hill will hold a grand opening.

For more information on Bushy Hill Nature Center, including how to volunteer, visit www.bushyhill.org.