Ecosystems Education Center
Renderings courtesy WRT. Adjacent to the Bartram’s Mile Trail, the new Ecosystems Education Center will host the park’s first-ever dedicated educational spaces, including lab-equipped classrooms (naming rights secured) and a commercial-grade teaching kitchen.
Welcoming More than 4,000 Student Visits Annually
The first-ever dedicated educational facilities at Bartram’s Garden will include lab-equipped classrooms, a commercial-grade teaching kitchen, and new trail-front amenities and community gathering spaces.
Naming & Sponsorship Opportunities
Fundraising is ongoing to advance groundbreaking on this transformative project.
We look forward to discussing ways to showcase your sponsorship through naming opportunities and other benefits.
To learn more, contact Director of Development & Communications Caroline Winschel at cwinschel@bartramsgarden.org or 215 729 5281 x104.
A Home for Learning & Growing
Located on previously developed land adjacent to the Bartram’s Mile Trail and the Sankofa Community Farm at Bartram’s Garden, the new 9,600-square-foot Ecosystems Education Center will provide flexible indoor and outdoor learning spaces to support award-winning year-round STEAM education, including school partnerships supporting more than 4,000 K–8 student visits annually and paid youth workforce development for roughly 40 local high school students each year.
Designed by WRT, the new facility will include three lab-equipped classrooms and a commercial-grade teaching kitchen. Construction drawings and permitting are currently underway in hopes of breaking ground in 2026–2027 and celebrating the building’s grand opening as part of the Garden’s 300th anniversary in 2028.
Plan Evolution
From 2019–2025, Bartram’s Garden collaborated with the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary (PDE) to pursue creation of a freshwater mussel hatchery adjacent to the Ecosystems Education Center. The joint complex was envisioned to combine free hands-on, community education and public recreation with cutting-edge environmental science and ecosystem restoration.
Freshwater mussels are bivalve mollusks that live in our local streams and rivers and provide many benefits to the natural ecosystem. These animals help to filter water, stabilize streambeds, and create habitat for other aquatic animals. Establishing a production-scale hatchery will allow for the propagation of native freshwater mussels for use in restoration projects.
Unfortunately, due to rising construction costs and shifts in the funding landscape, PDE made the difficult decision not to move forward with building the hatchery at Bartram’s Garden. This decision followed an extensive evaluation process, including updated cost analyses, multiple rounds of design revisions, and consultation with experts, advisors, and partners.
Bartram’s Garden remains committed to the Ecosystems Education Center and continues active fundraising efforts to bring that vision to life. PDE and Bartram’s Garden extend deep gratitude to the many funders, partners, and community supporters whose generosity and enthusiasm helped advance the freshwater mussel hatchery effort and the Ecosystems Education Center. Both organizations remain steadfast in their missions and united in their shared commitments to watershed restoration, community education, and scientific progress.
In Fall 2025, WRT’s unbuilt design for the Ecosystems Education Center and Freshwater Mussel Hatchery won the Silver Award from AIA Philadelphia.
Supporters
Financial assistance provided by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Honorable Josh Shapiro, Governor.
Support also provided by Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) and the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development; the Hamilton Family Charitable Trust; The McLean Contributionship; the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation; NOAA Coastal Zone Management; and the William Penn Foundation.
Updated November 2025
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