Cornell Plantations Celebrates the Grand Opening of the Brian C. Nevin Welcome Center With A Family Celebration

Come celebrate the new ultra-sustainable Brian C. Nevin Welcome Center located in the beautiful botanical gardens of the Cornell Plantations on Sunday, May 22 from 11 am to 4 pm.  There will be fun for the whole family – lively music, a “green” tour of the building, tours of our gardens, exhibits, refreshments, and fun activities for kids of all ages!  The grand opening celebration is free and open to the public.  The days music will be provided by Farm Animal – fiddle music of the American Southeast.

“We are thrilled to be able to share this celebration with the Ithaca community,” stated Billy Kepner of Cornell Plantations.  “The completion of the Welcome Center represents 10 years of transformations for Plantations — we now have a central location to greet our visitors, orient them, and providethem with amenities like they’ve never had before at Plantations.  All within the glass and steel walls of this amazing ultra-sustainable building!”

The Brian C. Nevin Welcome Center is named for Brian C. Nevin ’50, at the request of the primary benefactor, C. Sherwood “Woody” Southwick Jr.  The Welcome Center was dedicated on October 28, 2010 and was opened to visitors in February of this year. The Nevin Welcome Center is designed to achieve Gold LEED certification, and is also a significant step forward in Plantations’ and Cornell’s commitment to sustainability.

Baird Sampson Neuert Architects, the designers of the Brian C. Nevin Welcome Center at the Cornell Plantations, have received a “Design Excellence” award from the Ontario Architects’ Association for their work on the Nevin Welcome Center. This is the second such designation the Plantations’ Nevin Welcome Center has received.  Earlier in the year the architects received an Award of Excellence from Canadian Architect magazine and online journal.

Cornell Plantations is the botanical gardens, arboretum, and natural areas of Cornell University, and is a member of Ithaca’s Discovery Trail partnership. Plantations is open to the public year-round, free of charge, during daylight hours. For more information call 607-255-2400, or visit cornellplantations.org. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/cornellplantations.