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Goodwillie Environmental School, Forest Hills Public Schools

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2001, Progressive AE. 8400 Two Mile Rd. NE
  • (Photograph by Roger Funk)

This is a living environmental laboratory on twenty-eight acres adjacent to Seidman Park of Kent County that brought district-wide commitment to green architecture in all renovations to existing buildings and all new construction in Forest Hills Public Schools. Exemplifying this is the Forest Hills Fine Arts Center (2004, Integrated Architecture with Holabird and Roche, theater consultants) at 660 Forest Hills Avenue SE in Grand Rapids.

Mary Goodwillie Nelson and Jim Nelson commemorate Mary's first husband, Kelly Goodwillie, who died in 1993, and his appreciation of the natural environment in the school. Their financial gift covered the acquisition of land and construction of a permanent home for the Forest Hills Environmental School, where the school district offers enrichment classes in environmental issues for middle school students. Building materials were reviewed for recycled content, longevity, renew rates, and recyclability. The LEED-certified site and building and the environmental programming exemplify sustainablility.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Kathryn Bishop Eckert
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Data

What's Nearby

St. Patrick's Catholic Church
Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park
Fallasburg Bridge
Ahavas Israel Synagogue
Brookby (John W. and Minnie Cumnock Blodgett Estate)

Citation

Kathryn Bishop Eckert, "Goodwillie Environmental School, Forest Hills Public Schools", [Ada, Michigan], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/MI-01-KT44.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of Michigan

Buildings of Michigan, Kathryn Bishop Eckert. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2012, 262-262.

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