Wetlands center to begin construction soon

The South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center officially has a home for its various educational programs on a two-and-a-half acre plot of land behind the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center in Houma.

The $8 million campus, of which construction will soon begin on the intersection of Valhi Boulevard and Civic Center Drive, will feature a live wetlands exhibit, a STEM education center featuring a state of the art lab, an outdoor amphitheater and multiple buildings with interactive exhibits.

The South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that works to educate students about the ecology of Southeast Louisiana and the threat to the region posed by wetland loss.

Construction of the $1.3 million Live Wetlands Nature Exhibit should be underway by the summer or fall of next year, SLWDC Executive Director Jonathan Foret said. The exhibit is 17,000 square feet of man-made wetlands with native plants and a boardwalk above the water.

The exhibit represents the first of four phases of construction. The first phase is largely paid for with $865,000 in state capital outlay money and the rest by the SLWDC, Terrebonne Parish Manager Al Levron said.

“This is the first benchmark in moving forward to get our campus built,” Foret said. “It’s very exciting.”

The reason this exhibit is the first to be built is because the trees need time to grow. Also, despite being the centerpiece of the campus, it is the phase with the second lowest cost, he said.

Foret said they are currently finalizing the design of the exhibit with the architectural firm, Perez, APC.

Phase two of construction will erect the Bayou Country Institute, an education center where middle and high school students will participate in hands-on activities in STEM fields short for science, technology, engineering and math and interactive exhibits. The institute will also have a fully equipped laboratory where instructors will lead experiments with students.

The third phase will be the construction of the Working Coast Amphitheater & Exhibits, an outdoor amphitheater and a two-story exhibits building. The amphitheater will be a theatrical setting outdoors for lectures, film screenings, performances or gatherings. A reflection pool is planned and a portable transparent stage will allow event goers to walk, or dance, atop the reflection pool.

There will also be a projector, but the screen will a cascade of aerated water, Foret said.

The building will feature exhibits describing the importance of the local ecology and its role in the region’s economy. Its focus will be on preserving the region’s natural resources and their responsible harvest.

The fourth and final phase will build the Traveling Exhibits & Research Hall. As its name suggests, exhibits from out of town will pass through this building, allowing for new attractions for visitors to enjoy. A tower will also be built for visitors to get a bird’s eye view of the Live Wetlands Nature Exhibit.

The bulk of SLWDC activity is in offering programs including the summer camps, sponsoring the annual Wetlands Youth Summit for high school students, and presenting both spring and fall nature trail events at the Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge.

The SLWDC is currently located at the Bayou Terrebonne Waterlife Museum at 7910 Park Avenue.

In 2004, the SLWDC entered into an agreement with the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government to be able to build its own facility on the plot of land behind the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center. Now that the SLWDC has raised the 25 percent match to build the first phase, dirt can start being turned.

The SLWDC raises money through events throughout the year, most notably the Rougarou Fest, held annually since 2011 in late October.

The SLWDC has a long road of fundraising and construction to go and the yearly festival plays a huge role in that endeavor.

“You know the second phase is $3.4 millions,” Foret said. “We have to sell a lot of hamburgers at the Rougarou in order to build that!”