In the last 5 years, Pierce College has been undergoing a major remodel and beautification process.
This includes three new buildings, a reconstructed Mall and Pierce entry signs to welcome people to the school. These have all increased our campus’ appeal, and more projects are on the way.
One such project is the Horticulture and Animal Science Center that will be built (add in later).
This complex will not only help us look to the future of “green” building, but will also help us remember our agriculture past.
Many people may not know that Pierce was first Clarence W. Pierce School of Agriculture when it was founded in 1947.
While Pierce still has a strong agricultural program, the facilities have been lacking.
However, by late-2011, that is all going to change.
The Horticulture and Animal Science Center will provide much needed space and teaching tools for not only the campus, but also the community.
The complex will feature, among other things, two open-end classrooms, greenhouses, a 10,000 gallon water tower and four courtyards that will be both visually and academically stimulating.
But the most important feature of this project is the way it’s being constructed.
The complex will provide vast teaching opportunities, as well as be built using “green” building techniques for maximum sustainability.
The water tower that will provide for the plants in the complex can also be used as a hands-on lesson in irrigation. The straw-bale built classroom can be used to demonstrate the growing need for ecological building.
And the California native, drought resistant plants in the courtyards give faculty the opportunity to teach students about the agricultural footprint of the state,
The long agricultural history of our school might make the idea of this complex seem outdated, but this new project is a step toward bringing that past into the modern, “green” age.
(Anthony Gonzalez-Clark / Roundup)
