Brown Family Environmental Center

Kenyon's Brown Family Environmental Center (BFEC) is located along the banks of the Kokosing River, on Laymon Road, across Route 229 at the bottom of the College Hill. Kenyon maintains a 400-acre preserve and environmental center for the study of the organisms and habitats of the Kokosing River Valley. Designed for courses and student research involving ecology, aquatic biology, and animal behavior, the BFEC's laboratory borders Kenyon's wetland and experimental areas. A library provides additional resources for research, and the center sponsors a wide variety of educational and recreational programs for the entire community.

There are many opportunities for students at the College to become involved with the BFEC through its student organization, which plans a number of events at the center for Kenyon students, and through committees, which need volunteer help with exhibits, the medicinal and herb garden,the newsletter, trails, and the web site. In addition to conducting Students independent research projects, many students help monitor plant and animal populations. Many find it rewarding to teach young children about nature as volunteers for the BFEC's field-trip program, which hosts approximately a thousand schoolchildren each year.

BFEC: Fast Facts

Founded: 1995

Curent Use Course work in ecology, aquatic biology, and animal behavior; educational and recreational programs for the community

Facilities: education center with laboratory and exhibit areas, farmhouse, gardens, and research aviary.

BFEC: In Our Own Words

"Sometimes I just walk up the hill and sit in the pine grove and watch the sun go down over the Kokosing Valley."
— Peter Barker-Huelster, Class of 2004, English-creative writing major