The Swaner Nature Preserve is building a Nature Education Center designed to serve tourists, students and residents of all ages.  This Nature Education Center will house museum caliber exhibitry, both permanent and rotating, intended to educate and entertain all visitors to, and residents of, the State of Utah.  The Center will also be home to our expanding educational programming.

The Nature Education Center will be an important first stop for visitors to obtain information which will enhance their stay in the Park City area, including maps and literature detailing transportation routes and amenities in the area. The Nature Education Center will occupy land donated by Newpark Town Center, at the end of Newpark Boulevard in the heart of this commercial hub in Kimball Junction.  Located near the entrance to the Olympic Park, the building is strategically located as a welcome center. 

The nearly 10,000 square foot facility will be a crowning jewel at the end of a pedestrian retail plaza, flanked by a hotel and retail shops on the west and the expansive wet meadowlands of the Preserve on the east.  A pier will allow visitors to walk out onto the Preserve to observe our treasured open space.

An observation tower will be part of the building project, providing the public with a 360-degree view of the Preserve and the surrounding areas.  

The project is a 10,000 square foot, state-of-the art, museum quality Nature Education Center.  For this facility, the Swaner Nature Preserve is pursuing the coveted LEED Platinum certification which will make it a model for sustainable green building on a national scale.  If achieved, the Swaner Nature Education Center will be the first LEED Platinum building in a 5 state area and only the 25th in the world. 

What is LEED?
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.