Stephen F. Austin State University Gardens

Project Details

Education

Where: Nacogdoches, TX

Dedication Date: October 4, 2014

Donation Type: Solar Electric

Size: 12.85 kW

Claim to Fame: First Solar on SFA Campus--Solar-Powered Lumberjacks!

Project Overview

SFA Gardens are located on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches—the newly-designated Garden Capital of Texas. The Gardens started as a small project by a Landscape Plant Materials class in 1985 and have now grown to a 128-acre collection of diverse plant material evaluated and promoted throughout the southeastern United States. The Sun Club made a $30,000 donation in 2014 to the Gardens which built a 12.85 solar array on the roof of the new Ina Brundrett Conservation Education Building.

The mission of the SFA Gardens is to provide a living laboratory for SFA students and faculty and to provide an aesthetic and educational environment for the community.  The intent of the Ina Brundrett Conservation Education Building is to create a structure that in itself is an educational tool that can give each visitor important information about sustainable building practices. The array has been incorporated into the environmental education of the thousands of kids and adults who visit the Gardens every year.