A venue on the eastern edge of the Slippery Rock University campus, while imperative in educating students on sustainability, sits awaiting visitation by hikers, walkers, nature-lovers, and learners of all ages.

The Macoskey Center for Sustainable Education & Research, at 247 Harmony Road, Slippery Rock, is a 70-acre sustainable homestead named for the late SRU philosophy professor, Robert A. Macoskey.

Samantha Bortz, director at the center, said educational programs, demonstrations and research are carried out at the center, which is the former Patterson farm.

In addition to serving as another classroom and outdoor educational venue for the university, the center boasts roughly three miles of maintained trails, raised garden beds that can be used by the public, sensory kits in lockers on the front porch that help visitors explore the property, a meditation spiral, pond, fountain, benches, picnic tables and other features that can be enjoyed by the public.

Those looking to check out the Macoskey Center can do so at one or all of three upcoming free events this week in the Autumn Exploration Series.

Seasonal Foods will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Those in attendance will learn about pumpkins and apples and the many ways they can be used.

Migration and Hibernation will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Bird migration, insect hibernation and other topics will be presented.

Native Perennials and Pollinators will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Those who attend will learn about fall flowers and how to help pollinators survive the winter.

All three programs are free, but those planning to attend must register at linktr.ee/macoskeycenter.

Bortz said other upcoming events are listed at that link as well.

She said in the summer, tours are given of the raised beds on the center’s property.

The tours educate gardeners in the community on sustainable gardening, pest management, and companion planting, which sees certain plants grouped together in a garden for the benefit of growth or the eventual harvest.

The learning gardens also are used during summer camps at the center for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Day camps in the summer offer youngsters Farm to Fork: Let’s Get Growing and Farm to Fork: Let’s Get Cooking classes.

Campers also learn the plant life cycle, plant identification, and help to plant a portion of the garden beds.

“What’s exciting is that we usually do that in mid to late June, and if they come back for another camp in July, they get to harvest the things they planted,” Bortz said.

She said lots of hands-on games and crafts reinforce the camps’ focus on sustainability concepts.

The Macoskey Center is a key component in many programs at the university as well.

“The parks and resource management program probably uses the center the most and holds their classes in there,” Bortz said.

Students learn to identify and name all types of native perennials and wildlife, and learn about Pennsylvania’s native ecosystems.

Students in the new environmental communications program at the university meet regularly at the Macoskey Center, and planned the Autumn Exploration Series, Bortz said.

Professor Beth Ann Rice’s classes on animal behavior and analysis meet at the Macoskey Center to learn about observation skills through bird-watching on the property, Bortz said.

Students in Rice’s classes use quail to study alcoholism behavior due to one unique quality the game birds possess.

“Apparently, they are one of the few animal species that will seek out fermented foods in their environment, and they do that socially,” Bortz said, “so that makes them a great test subject.”

She said instead of euthanizing the “control” quail — or those not exposed to alcohol for comparison — they are sent to the Macoskey Center, where their eggs are sold alongside eggs from the center’s chickens.

The engineering department at SRU partners with the Macoskey Center to provide a venue for senior-level capstone projects.

This year, a group of students is working on a design to renovate an older greenhouse on the center’s property to use a compost heat transfer system to heat the greenhouse.

Bortz said the project benefits both students and the center, and can be used as a demonstration for the larger community.

Occupational therapy students at the university have created sensory kits, which are kept in lockers on the front porch of the center.

Children who want to access the sensory kits must scan a QR code and fill out a short form, which provides the combination to a lock on a designated locker.

The sensory kit contains educational tools like a magnifying lens, bingo card to be filled out while traversing the center’s property, animal flash cards, and a map of sensory hot spots.

“You use smell, sounds, and touch to explore the property and engage on a deeper level in the natural world,” Bortz said.

Families then return the kits to the locker when they are finished.

Jason Updegraph, trails and homestead graduate assistant at the center, was hired a few months ago to maintain the property.

The secondary education STEM graduate student heard about the job from his wife, who is acquainted with an SRU professor whose students use the Macoskey Center.

Updegraph is a lifelong outdoorsman, having grown up on a farm outside Portersville.

“It seemed like a good connection,” he said.

Updegraph mows, maintains bridges and all structures, removes limbs, maintains the walking trails, cares for two dozen quails and chickens, and performs general maintenance at the facility.

He especially enjoys seeing a diverse clientele on the walking trails.

“We have senior citizens, and I take my little 3- and 6-year-olds out there,” Updegraph said.

He also performs invasive plant management, meaning he rids the property of invasive species that are harmful to native species.

Updegraph said he knew of the center before being hired, but was unaware of its breadth regarding public availability.

He said everyone should place the Macoskey Center for Sustainable Education & Research on their bucket list of places to visit in Butler County.

“It is a unique place where people from all walks of life and ages can come and learn a little bit about sustainability and take advantage of the natural setting,” he said.

The outdoor spaces at the Macoskey Center are open to the public during all daylight hours. The indoor venue, where eggs, honey and other items are for sale, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

The center has Facebook and Instagram pages where families can explore all the opportunities available at the center, as well as a monthly newsletter.

“One of my main goals is to get the word out about the center and increase the use of it,” Bortz said. “It’s such a peaceful place.”