The Nest

That is exactly what our upstairs office space does for the staff at Cope Environmental Center. Every consistently occupied space in the Nest has direct access to the fresh air through our high efficiency windows.

Made possible by a gift from West End Bank.

Leading up to the nest is a staircase featuring artwork in a variety of mediums that showcase the amazing talent we have here at CEC! Pictured above is an original painting by Hoosier artist Rick Wilson depicting our maple syrup programs.

This beautiful handrail was made by volunteer Charlie Probasco. It was an innovative way of bringing the outdoors in! Note the beautiful bark still attached to both the supports and the rail…GORGEOUS!

We have the most talented volunteers! Pictured here are hand-made stair treads and a beautiful sign painted for us by volunteers!

What do dying ash trees have to do with this project? Unfortunately, a little invasive beetle called the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has made things tough on the trees at Cope. EAB is an insect native to Asia. It lays its eggs on the bark of ash trees, and the larvae eat their way through the phloem and cambium layer. Because of that, the infestation of Emerald Ash Borers is killing ash trees in North America at an alarming rate! Therefore, in order to make the best of the situation, we took down multiple ash trees on our property and used them in this building. Local lumber = less fuel consumption!

Although our building is new, many components inside are only new to us! The glass on these desks was donated by Catron’s Glass while the desk tops are salvaged doors from an apartment in Chicago. Re-purposing saved us money throughout the building and made this space more interesting!

Our conference room happens to be the ONLY room in the building without access to fresh air. Because of this, we only use it for meetings. The conference room has a long table similar to our desks, made in-house of re-purposed doors, glass, and table legs! This room also features photographs from local artists taken right here on our property!

Conference room made possible by a gift from Wayne County Convention & Tourism bureau, Inc.