Laguna Learning Center
Project Details
Stone Farm, future location of the Laguna Learning Center, is owned by the City of Santa Rosa, which has generously extended the Foundation a 50-year lease of the farmstead for a nominal fee. The site is adjacent to a system of Laguna trails under development by the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District.
The Foundation will rehabilitate the 19th century structures at Stone Farm, and construct a new building in the style of the historic farm, creating an educational and research facility interpreting and celebrating the Laguna’s rich environmental resources and its Native American and agricultural history. The Laguna Learning Center will create a focal point for public attention to the Laguna, will allow the Foundation to expand our education, research and restoration efforts to an entirely new level, and will both interpret the past and point to the Laguna’s future.
The Farmhouse and Historic Barns
The restored farmhouse will serve as headquarters and offices for the Laguna Foundation. The rehabilitated barns will again serve farming uses, housing the agricultural education programs of the Learning Center, a collection of antique horse-drawn farm implements, and equipment for demonstrations of traditional agricultural skills such as flour milling and blacksmithing.
The Interpretive Center and Research Station
The interpretive center will be a new structure designed in compatible architectural style with the historic buildings, using “green building” design standards including photovoltaic solar power generation. The interpretive center building has been designed to serve multiple purposes, housing an exhibit hall, classroom and meeting space, offices, storage and a kitchen. The structure will be located between the house and the hop barn, forming an open quadrangle where outdoor demonstrations, installations and lectures can be conducted in summer months.
The Laguna Learning Center will also feature a research station, to conduct scientific studies on the Laguna watershed’s geography and geology, the complex dynamics of water movement and absorption, the characteristics of native plants and animals and their interactions, and the impacts of human activity and non-native species. These studies will inform the design of restoration projects, assess their outcomes, and engage with our education programs.
Interpretive Exhibits and Installations
Exhibits for the hall and the surrounding outdoor interpretive installations will highlight and interpret the unique natural, Native American, and early settler history of our region. Participation in facility, exhibit and program planning by the Federated Indians of the Graton Rancheria and local agricultural historians will ensure the accuracy, currency and “aliveness” of these historical education experiences.
