Blandy Experimental Farm Educational Center Environmental Impact Statement By: Student from FCMS

Project Background The purpose of Blandy Farms field trip is to decide where to put the new education center. We have learned about historical significance of some locations at Blandy. We also have learned about the environment and how a new building would be affected by it. One of the ways we learned this is by doing an experiment on runoff and by testing water quality of a stream. In conclusion, the purpose of the Blandy farms field trip is to learn about what we need to consider to find a good location for a building.

The 19 40’s Greenhouse Location: The Green House The 1940’s Greenhouse is the best spot to build an educational center. This is the place near the picnic tables, perfect for students to break for lunch after working in the new building. The greenhouse has a breathtaking view of the fields. In the perfect shade of the tall trees that sway in the wind. This location has the sweet smell of maple and pine trees that surround it. That is why this is the best place to build the new education center.

Environmental Reasoning The greenhouse is not thought to be very positive on environment because of the forested area around it, but in several ways the forest is actually helping the location. People May Think: Won’t there be bad runoff into the fields? Well the trees on the edge do make a buffer zone. Even though there is a buffer it is still important to make sure they use erosion fences and don’t use anything toxic. What about the birds and other animals being harmed from the construction site? If they are tearing down the old green house that would have already alerted the birds and other animals and other animals to stay back from the site. So they wouldn’t be close enough to be harmed. Would it affect the plants? The larger plants and native plants are back far enough already from the greenhouse. So the only thing to worry about is the building affecting the amount of light blocked from the building, which can be fixed by changing what you make the building out of. (Ex.Using reflective or clear materials can give more light)

Historical Significance of the Greenhouse The reason we need to know if the place is historically significant is because if is historically significant you are not allowed to build on that location. The 1940’s Greenhouse is not historically significant. There are several reasons to consider if the place is historically significant. The greenhouse doesn't have any important people do anything special or be born there. Another reason is that no special events happened here. The Civil War did happen where Blandy is located but not at the greenhouse itself. Another way that is not important is because nothing that is significantly interesting happened here. In fact, this location is not being used at all by Blandy so it is already going to be torn down even if they don’t build anything there. Remember to do 6 events slides for homework.Add stuff about why it is important for the place not to be historically significance

The Bus and Event parking area Location: The Bus And Event Parking Area This is the second best place to build the building. This is a large field with the fresh scent of cut grass. There are a few trees out front making the perfect scenery to gaze at out the window of the new learning center. The field is as flat as a pancake, which is always helpful when constructing a building. Even the trees around the field can’t make enough shade to reach the center of the field.

Environmental Reasoning The event parking lot is a large spot that is not very close to any habitats around it. This makes it great for building a building. People May Think: Won’t there be bad flooding into the entrance to Blandy? Well there are simple ways to stop that, like putting up erosion fences to stop it from flowing out of the site. What will this do to surrounding plants or animals? Because of parking cars and buses there, not many plants and animals live at the event parking lot. Will it cause any extra pollution on Lake Georgette? If you have to build up instead of out to save space for parking, you might have to use more machines that cause pollution that may end up in the lake. The only thing you can really do about this is to try to find environment friendly ways to get the job done.

Historical Significance of the Event Parking area It is always important to make sure that the place you are building at is not historically significant, so you can build there. If the place is deemed historically significant it is preserved so that no buildings can destroy it. The event parking lot is not historically significant. It did not have any important people who did anything special. Another reason is that there was never any special events in the parking area, and no artifacts were found. Nothing significantly interesting happened here. In fact, this is only a field used for parking on events like the Mother's Day flower show. Remember to do 6 events slides for homework. Add stuff about why it is important for the place not to be historically significance

Conclusion It is surely important for the kids to have a place to learn. That is why Blandy wants the kids to help find a place to build it. In conclusion to my choice, the best places to build a building at is the greenhouse and the parking area. These locations are clearly not historically significant and do not have a major effect on the ecosystems around the them. Both places will be a good choice to put the education center. So keep these reasons in mind when it is time to start construction of the obviously needed education center.