History
Funds for construction of the Wetlands Centre were raised from private donations, grants and contributions from the communities of Marquette, McGregor and MFL MarMac school district. Construction began in late 2011, and the Centre opened to visitors in May of 2013. The Wetlands Centre is owned by the City of Marquette and general operating funds come from the city government.
Iowa Great Places Designation & DAWC Construction
In 2009 the Visioning volunteers worked together with an architecture and engineering firm to develop a design and interpretive master plan for an infrastructure project with historical significance. The Railroad Roundhouse site, chosen for the specific location of the Wetlands Centre, had been highly disturbed and reconstructed over time. It had served from early times as a railroad yard with a circular building called a roundhouse, especially designed so that several train engines would be put in at once and rotated to more efficiently work on repairs or turn them in different directions. Thus the location simply came to be known by the common name “The Roundhouse”.
Over time the railroad utilized the area as a dump site for ash and outdated equipment. As years passed, use of the roundhouse area changed as the railroad industry travel changed and the roundhouse was abandoned. The City of Marquette purchased a major portion of the property and the roundhouse area was mitigated as a Brownfield location. There is still train travel to see and relate to when talking about the history of the area at The Centre.
The progression from a polluted dumping ground to restored native habitat is an excellent interactive tool to demonstrate to audiences the benefits of restoring a Brownfield site. Native prairie and wetland seeding and a variety of native trees now surround the Wetlands Centre in the area that was formally railroad waste land. Both management of invasive species and replanting and protecting native species provide ample subject matter for school activities.
The Wetlands Centre consists of an open air shelter, outdoor eductation room, and restrooms. A universally accessible trail wraps around the Roundhouse Pavilion to increase opportunities for viewing native plantings, interpretive information, and conservation practices. An observation deck overlooks the constructed one-acre wetland to encourage educational programming and thoughtful reflection. The A roof water drop structure collects rain from the roof of the Roundhouse Pavilion and directs it into the constructed wetland, slowing water flow and erosion.
American School of Wildlife Protection
The initial vision for the Wetlands Centre relates back to the American School of Wildlife Protection, which was established in 1919 in McGregor and continued each summer until 1941. The school was also known as the MacGregor Wild Life School and the American Institute of Nature Studies. The school was the result of a summer meeting of the Iowa Conservation Association (ICA) held at McGregor, Iowa, in July 1918. Leaders of the ICA believed that their annual March meeting should be supplemented by a summer session.
The school was one of the first of its kind in the United States. It's purpose was to promote conservation values among the public. The school's sessions combined education with activism and included both lectures and field trips. Topics included Native American history and lore, botany, geology, forestry, entomology, and ornithology. Faculty members were drawn from Midwestern colleges and state and federal agencies. The Wetlands Centre serves to continue the rich heritage of ecological education in this unique area of Northeast Iowa.
Iowa Great Places Designation & DAWC Construction
In 2009 the Visioning volunteers worked together with an architecture and engineering firm to develop a design and interpretive master plan for an infrastructure project with historical significance. The Railroad Roundhouse site, chosen for the specific location of the Wetlands Centre, had been highly disturbed and reconstructed over time. It had served from early times as a railroad yard with a circular building called a roundhouse, especially designed so that several train engines would be put in at once and rotated to more efficiently work on repairs or turn them in different directions. Thus the location simply came to be known by the common name “The Roundhouse”.
Over time the railroad utilized the area as a dump site for ash and outdated equipment. As years passed, use of the roundhouse area changed as the railroad industry travel changed and the roundhouse was abandoned. The City of Marquette purchased a major portion of the property and the roundhouse area was mitigated as a Brownfield location. There is still train travel to see and relate to when talking about the history of the area at The Centre.
The progression from a polluted dumping ground to restored native habitat is an excellent interactive tool to demonstrate to audiences the benefits of restoring a Brownfield site. Native prairie and wetland seeding and a variety of native trees now surround the Wetlands Centre in the area that was formally railroad waste land. Both management of invasive species and replanting and protecting native species provide ample subject matter for school activities.
The Wetlands Centre consists of an open air shelter, outdoor eductation room, and restrooms. A universally accessible trail wraps around the Roundhouse Pavilion to increase opportunities for viewing native plantings, interpretive information, and conservation practices. An observation deck overlooks the constructed one-acre wetland to encourage educational programming and thoughtful reflection. The A roof water drop structure collects rain from the roof of the Roundhouse Pavilion and directs it into the constructed wetland, slowing water flow and erosion.
American School of Wildlife Protection
The initial vision for the Wetlands Centre relates back to the American School of Wildlife Protection, which was established in 1919 in McGregor and continued each summer until 1941. The school was also known as the MacGregor Wild Life School and the American Institute of Nature Studies. The school was the result of a summer meeting of the Iowa Conservation Association (ICA) held at McGregor, Iowa, in July 1918. Leaders of the ICA believed that their annual March meeting should be supplemented by a summer session.
The school was one of the first of its kind in the United States. It's purpose was to promote conservation values among the public. The school's sessions combined education with activism and included both lectures and field trips. Topics included Native American history and lore, botany, geology, forestry, entomology, and ornithology. Faculty members were drawn from Midwestern colleges and state and federal agencies. The Wetlands Centre serves to continue the rich heritage of ecological education in this unique area of Northeast Iowa.