The Brown Family Environmental Center has been a growing and evolving department at Kenyon for over 26 years. Our mission includes three objectives: to support Kenyon academics, to provide educational opportunities and events to the central Ohio community, and to conserve the ecosystems on the property that we manage.
As of August 2021, the BFEC encompasses over 600 acres, most of which are immediately adjacent to the Kenyon campus. For recreational purposes, we maintain almost 11 miles of trails that traverse forests, wetlands, prairies, pastureland, and riparian areas. While we currently are unable to monitor trail usage, anecdotal data suggest that we serve thousands of people each year with our trail system. Many of our trail users are regulars, but we also have many one-time users that find us as they bike along the Kokosing Gap Trail or float down the Kokosing River.
Our support of academics has grown over the years. Fall 2021 semester saw 29 different classes use the property, ranging from environmental studies to modern languages, dance, art, sociology, English and more. For most of these classes, our staff works closely with faculty to ensure meaningful experiences that add depth and texture to each course.
Outreach to the greater community includes programs and events, most of which are free to participants. Evening and weekend programs provide educational and experiential opportunities for adults and families and field trips for elementary and middle school students provide hands-on, nature-based experiences aligned to Ohio science standards. Our much-loved Fall Harvest Festival usually attracts over 2,000 guests, mixing the Kenyon community with the greater Knox County community.
Our primary conservation goals include suppression of invasive species in order to promote native plant and animal biodiversity, and ecosystem management decisions that support biodiversity while supporting Kenyon’s carbon neutrality initiatives. Much of the property is protected by conservation easements that were put into place by the Philander Chase Conservancy. These easements inform the work that we do.
The BFEC engages Kenyon students academically, socially, as volunteers, and as employees. Fall 2021 semester, 33% of the student body attended a class at the BFEC. Our student managers work during the school year. Their primary objective is to create fun programs and hikes to get Kenyon students socially involved. Each semester, about 200 students take advantage of these outdoor opportunities. In addition to employment during the academic year, we hire three students each summer to help us with the labor-intensive work of maintaining the property, including the trails and our wildlife garden. Finally, we rely on Kenyon students to lead elementary field trips, to help with projects on the property, and to staff our community events. As volunteers, Kenyon students are generous with their time, providing up to 2,500 hours each year.
The small staff at the BFEC are proud to help Kenyon offer opportunities that foster environmental literacy, meet their carbon neutrality goals and preserve the aesthetic and ecological functions of the landscape surrounding the College.