Our NATURE Lab initiative is housed in the Sanctuary’s Environmental Education Center. We have transformed an abandoned building on 3319 6th Avenue into a collaborative resource for the North Troy community. We seek to empower the public with grassroots science through our Community Science Lab in partnership with other Sanctuary initiatives including People’s Health Sanctuary and Collard City Growers.
LOCATION
One block from the Hudson River, our environmental education campus – including Collard City Growers (garden, L-Lot and Food Cycle), NATURE Lab and Freedom Square – offers programming including community workshops, public art installations, artist residencies, research activities, and after school activities.
We hope to find more ways that NATURE Lab can support quality of life in North Central Troy, one of the most environmentally devastated neighborhoods of New York State. We seek to combine global expertise with local knowledge to address issues unique to the North Troy ecosystem and surrounding community.
Check out our Sanctuary Art Trail
This virtual StoryMap exlores the block around The Sanctuary for Independent Media campus.
View the MapMore about our Level 1 Community Science Lab
We are constructing a Biosafety Level 1 Community DIY Biology Laboratory on the first floor of this building, supplied with basic molecular biology scientific equipment.
We will be able to conduct research for ongoing projects around local urban environmental issues: air, water and soil contamination/pollution. Public workshops will offer science literacy skills to understand the impact of environmental justice. Our community science lab and will include an outdoor living learning space with therapeutic medicinal gardens and restorative open-air terraces and meeting areas.
Our collaborating partnerships include the Water Justice Lab with Riverkeeper. The project establishes a water quality sampling lab, provides a hub to learn and act with the Troy community about water issues and how we can make a difference. It develops the advocacy capacity of the North Troy area, and strengthens a network of environmental justice advocates focused on water issues in the Hudson River Watershed.
Upcoming NATURE Lab Events
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About NATURE Lab’s History
Our urban environmental education campus has been years in the making. View a presentation of our past activities that brought us to this moment – the grand opening of the NATURE Lab Environmental Education Center.
View the PDFLeadership and Support
This initiative is led by Professor Kathy High, Project Coordinator; Branda Miller, Arts and Education Coordinator; Melissa Bromley, Development Director; Media Sanctuary Executive, Director Steve Pierce; Health Autonomy Clinic: Francis Coughlin and JJ Lucerno. Project design and construction: Architectural firm TAP, lead Barb Nelson. Architecture advisor Joe Fama. Construction company lead: David Downer. With generous funds from the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Want to learn more about what we do, or help out? Get in touch to learn about volunteer opportunities!
