ECOLOGY CENTER: In the water wheel building at Coan Lake, it offers plenty of fun

Welcome to a unique little corner of our world!

It’s called the Fish n’ Fun Ecology Center.

As we introduce the center to you, it is our wish to provide information that will help improve your own little corner of your world. Many of you reading this are aware of the Coan Lake, the water wheel and grist mill at Heritage Park. What you may not be aware of is that a new attraction has been opened inside of that eye-catching building.

Originally built and opened by volunteers in 1994, it has been used primarily as a storage facility by the City of Taylor. After a fresh coat of paint on the outside and extensive electrical, carpentry and more paint on the inside, The Fish n’ Fun Ecology Center found a home. We wish to thank the carpenters, electricians and painters for their exceptional gifts of materials and labor, without which the inside work on the grist mill would not have been possible

The Fish n’ Fun Ecology Center has been has been involved in helping youth and families learn about issues related to protecting and preserving our environment in many different ways since 2005. Most of our events were single-day activities held annually, like Fish n’ Fun Day (cancelled this year).

The opening in June 2013 at the Water Wheel Grist Mill gave all of our education events a home. It also offered us an opportunity to expand the number and the quality of our partners and events.

The Ecology Center features exhibits from nine different organizations including U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Huron Valley Sport Fishing Club and even the Chippewa Indian tribe from Mount Pleasant.

The exhibits are professional and represent the latest scientific knowledge available – but in a fun and easy going manner which has become our trademark. We believe in education sprinkled with fun.

We invite you and your family to come and see what we are about. We promise you’ll leave with a pleasant surprise.

Hours at the center are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. The center is also available for group tours of 15 or more by appointment only, Monday through Fridays. Call (734) 306-5235 for more information.

(Dennis O’Connell is a Taylor resident who spends a lot of his time in central Michigan these days. He taught fishing to children and teens for nine years through the Wayne County Community College District’s Downriver Campus and the City of Taylor.)