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Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests

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Conservation Center

  • Conservation Center Rental Information
  • Conservation Center: Energy-Conscious Design Through the Years
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News

  • Outdoor Education for New American Middle Schoolers

    Linden Rayton
    October 4, 2019

     

    On a cloudy but warm Thursday recently, I met seven 6th-8th grade English Language Learning (ELL) students and their two teachers from ...

  • New Americans, Old River

    Dave Anderson
    July 29, 2018

    “I’ll bet a kid from rural Africa could teach you a thing or two about making things out of trees” my colleague said.

    It's true. 

    ...

  • On the Wings of Spring

    Ellen Kenny
    February 28, 2018

    The redwing blackbirds were back on Saturday, or at least that’s when I first heard them. 

    ...

Conservation Center

The sun-lit lobby of the Forest Society's conservation center with views of the forest.
The lobby of the Conservation Center.

The Conservation Center, headquarters of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, is located in Concord, N.H., on 103 acres of conserved land on the Merrimack River. The Conservation Center demonstrates the use of renewable natural resources and energy conservation techniques in design and construction. The campus is a great example of the evolution of energy-conscious design since 1980.

The original building’s energy-efficient, passive solar design was cutting edge for its time and received many accolades for its use of energy conservation, renewable energy sources, and imaginative use of native forest products. The Weeks Wing addition in 1990 and French Wing addition in 2000 further demonstrated the Forest Society’s commitment to walking the walk by pursuing the same goals and achieving the first LEED-Gold certification in New England in 2003.

The Conservation Center has won many awards over the years and was most recently awarded the 25-Year Award for Excellence in Architecture from the AIANH for its design by acclaimed architect C. Stuart White.

The south-facing side of the Conservation Center is lined with windows to filter sunshine into the building
The south-facing aspect of the 1980 main building has 1500 square feet of glass, allowing solar gain to flood the building with natural daylight and to capture passive solar energy. Forest Society photo.

 

Two young boys walk through the pine forest.

Explore the Merrimack River Outdoor Education & Conservation Area

The Conservation Center is located on 103 acres of conserved land on the Merrimack River, known locally as "the floodplain." The Merrimack River Outdoor Education & Conservation Area is open to the public for many different recreational uses.

Visit the Conservation Area in Concord
Conservation Center

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Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests54 Portsmouth St.Concord, NH 03301
Phone: 603.224.9945Fax: 603.228.0423info@forestsociety.org
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