Hidden natural research centre revealed

The centre is not a new community hall, however, but a field lab set up for researchers that come to the area to study natural history.

It is named after Dr. Harrison Lewis, the first director of the Canadian Wildlife Services and later a resident of Port Joli.

“We looked for a name that had meaning for what we wanted to accomplish. (He) was in many ways a person who believed in and worked towards goals we could appreciate,” says Dirk van Loon, a Director at the centre.

According to van Loon, interest in building a field lab goes back 15 years. Many groups supported the idea, such as Parks Canada, the Canadian Wildlife Service and the Department of Natural Resources, but nothing came from it.

Three years ago van Loon and his wife Anne, both very active in environmental issues, decided to build it themselves.

Much of the centre makes use of reused materials and construction materials directly from the site. The furnishings came primarily from the high schools in Halifax that were torn down to make way for the new Halifax West School, and the wood for the building primarily came from the land cleared for the building.

This spring, an ornithology class from Dalhousie University became the first to use the centre.

The centre offers many amenities not normally available to researchers working out in the field.

“Often they’re pretty rustic places they stay at if they are staying in the field. It’s not uncommon for somebody to be in a tent during the summer,” says Crystal Doggett, coordinator with the centre.

“A separate work station from your living station is key,” she says, adding that most researchers aren’t used to having that much space.

The two-storey building has kitchen facilities and open space on the first floor, and the basement area to conduct research. In the more heavily wooded area is a bunkhouse for researchers to stay, which is also close to a secluded beach.

“Any kind of researcher needs a place to work with their samples. You need to have running water, space to work with your samples. There’s open space in the basement to spread out and stay spread out. You don’t need to do it in the kitchen area where you need to keep putting things away,” says Doggett.

So far they have been getting a good response from researchers in the area. Since opening in June, an ornithology class from Dalhousie spent close to a week at the centre.

Already the centre is looking to expand its vision in the community to include small-scale farming and foresting practices that work with nature.

“Typically, we in North America tip the ecological boat one way or the other, all for extraction and exploitation of resources, or to the other side in the interest of preservation,” says van Loon. “Either way the boat ships water and is in danger of sinking. We are looking for ways to balance the boat and stay afloat.”