FAIRHOPE — Designs for the new Pelican’s Nest campus coming to downtown Fairhope were recently released. Phase I will include a new outdoor classroom and “living laboratories.” The project is expected to break ground this fall.
The Pelican’s Nest Science Lab is a partnership between the Fairhope Educational Enrichment Foundation (FEEF) and the Baldwin County Public School (BCPS) system. The campus was created to offer enrichment opportunities for students in kindergarten through sixth grade to develop an understanding of the ecology of Mobile Bay and surrounding waters.
The new campus will allow FEEF to serve more students as the organization expands its curriculum to include grades K through 12.
The grounds of the historic school campus will be transformed into an outdoor classroom that will demonstrate best practices in ecological engineering and regenerative design. The Pelican’s Nest Marine Science Lab will be reframed as the heart of the campus.
Four existing freestanding classrooms will become project-based learning and professional development centers. These renovated classrooms will have the capacity for filmmaking, robotics, science labs and the arts.

According to the FEEF website, “These flexible, modern learning environments, with white board wall surfaces, green screens, movable partitions and adaptable furnishing will feel more like the headquarters of a technology firm than a traditional school.”
The new campus was designed as a 3D textbook, demonstrating the best practices to take an aging facility and reimagine it into a New Positive Water and Energy School for the state of Alabama and the Gulf Coast region, according to the FEEF website.
To transform the campus into a 3D textbook, certain elements have been integrated into the designs. These include a rainwater collection system, “living machine” water treatment wetland, solar canopy and electronic energy monitoring, green walls / living art exhibits, teaching garden and compost >center, outdoor classrooms and performance space, and flexible, wired maker spaces encouraging creativity.
To create the new campus, FEEF has worked closely with WATERSHED on a master plan, budget and the conceptional design for the STEAM-focused educational enrichment center.
For more information about the project or to learn ways to support the “NEST,” visit https://bit.ly/3LGWCpu.
To keep up with the latest designs, visit https://bit.ly/3Kyh4HP.