Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College

Goshen College

Goshen College, is a private Mennonite liberal arts college in Goshen, Indiana, USA with an enrollment of around 1,000 students. The college is accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities...

 is located just south of Wolflake

Wolflake, Indiana

Wolflake is an unincorporated town in Noble Township, Noble County, Indiana. Founded in 1832, Wolflake is the oldest town in Noble County. Each August citizens celebrate their heritage with the Onion Days Festival. The town of Wolflake is located just north of Wolf Lake, an actual lake....

 at Bear Lake

Bear Lake, Indiana

Bear Lake is a small lake side community, located 28 miles north-west of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Points of interest include Bear lake Camp, Bear Lake Church, Elwood H...

 in Noble County, Indiana

Noble County, Indiana

As of the census of 2000, there were 46,275 people, 16,696 households, and 12,288 families residing in the county. The population density was 113 people per square mile . There were 18,233 housing units at an average density of 44 per square mile...

. Merry Lea is the largest privately held land reserve in the state of Indiana. The center serves as a field laboratory for students at Goshen College who are studying ecology

Ecology

Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...

, environmental education

Environmental education

Environmental education refers to organized efforts to teach about how natural environments function and, particularly, how human beings can manage their behavior and ecosystems in order to live sustainably. The term is often used to imply education within the school system, from primary to...

 and agroecology

Agroecology

Agroecology is the application of ecological principles to the production of food, fuel, fiber, and pharmaceuticals. The term encompasses a broad range of approaches, and is considered "a science, a movement, [and] a practice."...

. In addition, Merry Lea provides environmental educational experiences for elementary students in the center's service area which includes the Fort Wayne

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...

 metropolitan area as well as Warsaw, Huntington, Kendallville, Goshen and Elkhart.

The facility's 1150 acres (4.6 km²) include most of northern Indiana's ecosystems including peat bogs, swamp maple forest, upland mesic forest, old field, prairie

Prairie

Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...

, and lakeshore. An esker

Esker

An esker is a long winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North America...

 deposit with 50 ft (15 m) relief that extends for nearly half a mile (1 km) is the most striking geological feature. The center also features Rieth Village, a complex of energy efficient building

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....

s completed in 2006 that provide housing and classrooms for college students. Rieth Village features a 10 kW wind generator

Wind power

Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....

 mounted on a 100 ft (30 m) tower and 4.8 kW photovoltaic array.