After looking for a permanent home for years, the Newfound Lake Region Association finally celebrated the grand opening of its Grey Rocks Conservation Center last week.
And community members were ready to celebrate. According to Rebecca Hanson, the association’s executive director, over 100 people showed up to the grand opening on Thursday, which included a tour of the building, a guided trail walk and other activities for little kids.
Beyond serving as a community and educational hub, the center will also allow the organization to better conduct water quality testing at Newfound Lake, Hanson explained.
“These were all things that became apparent that they were very important to our community,” she said.
While the lake is one of the cleanest in the state, robust water testing is especially important as climate change advances, Hanson said. The organization is also monitoring Newfound Lake for cyanobacteria, as nearby water bodies have struggled with blooms in recent years.
“What this building does for us is it gives us the space to address these challenges with our water quality labs, our stormwater workshop,” Hanson said. “We can now react to any potential issues that might come down the road.”
Read more about the connection between cyanobacteria and climate change here.
Hanson also stressed that having this presence in the community is important for “actively fostering a new generation of conservationists and stewards for this place,” she said. “So we can continue to do our work into the future.”
The new building cost about $2 million, which mostly came from private donations, Hanson said.
“Our community has been incredibly generous and incredibly enthusiastic of the vision we have here,” Hanson said.
The Conservation Center is now open to the public Thursdays through Mondays. Visitors can check out exhibits, take part in ecotours or just stop by on the way to a trail.
