The Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center recently earned the Green Globe Award from King County. The Mercer Slough was one of 10 Green Globe Award recipients recognizing individuals, school districts, cities and businesses.

The Environmental Education Center, at 1625-118th Avenue Southeast in Bellevue, is a gateway to the 320-acre Mercer Slough Nature Park. Home to hundreds of diverse plants and animals that depend on the wetlands ecosystem for survival, the slough is considered ideal for environmental study.

In honor of Earth Day, this year’s awards were presented by King County Councilmembers Kathy Lambert, Jane Hague, and Dow Constantine.

The Mercer Slough was recognized as a leader in sustainable building. A partnership of the city of Bellevue and Pacific Science Center, the new Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center provides opportunities for hands-on environmental education. Completed in October 2008, the complex features classrooms, a visitor center, a community building and a “tree house,” all sustainably built utilizing the LEED certification system.

Pacific Science Center and Bellevue have offered classes at Mercer Slough for the past 15 years. However, the original education center was the Sullivan House, a retrofitted Parks property that could only accommodate 8,000 students each year. Once all phases of the new expansion are complete, the center will be able to host as many as 40,000 school children, teachers and families each year.

For more information, visit http://www.bellevuewa.gov/mseec.htm.