The Brown Family Environmental Center at Kenyon College is a 610+ acre preserve that serves as a community nature center for Knox County and as an outdoor laboratory for Kenyon. Our focus is environmental education and conservation of natural ecosystems.
Field trips for elementary- and middle-school students are the cornerstone of our community programming, but we also offer many different activities for families and the general public. We aim to provide experiences that ground our community with a sense of place, while teaching about the natural history of central Ohio and the importance of environmental stewardship. In a typical year, we serve approximately 13,000 guests through our active programming and facility usage.
We work closely with Kenyon faculty to find meaningful ways to engage students on the property. Immersive, high impact experiences add texture and dimension to our students’ education. In the fall of 2021, we served 30 classes on 72 different days, impacting 595 Kenyon students, about one third of the student population.
Eleven miles of trails meander through the property and connect to the Kokosing Gap Trail and the Kokosing River. Every day, walkers, joggers, hikers and wanderers use these trails for their physical, mental and emotional health and well-being.
Of course, none of this would be possible without the arduous and unsung work that is required on the property on a daily basis. Our land management efforts promote biodiversity, support pollinators, clean our air, keep our streams and rivers healthy, and provide well-groomed trails through multiple ecosystems.
In the spring of 2022, the Knox County Chamber of Commerce honored the BFEC with the Environmental Sustainability Award for 2021. This award honors the Knox County business or organization that has done the most during the year to introduce sustainable practices into its operations or to promote awareness of sustainable practices and encourage their use.
We are here for our community — to provide a place for guests to learn, unwind, exercise, play, and live their best life. We hope you can come visit soon!