On Saturday April 16, the City of East Palo Alto and the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District inaugurated the new Cooley Landing Education Center. Designed by local architecture firm FOG Studio, the 4,000 square foot building is located on nine acres of reclaimed landfill that had served as the San Mateo County dump for decades.

The mayor of East Palo Alto, Donna Rutherford, kickstarted the grand opening at 10 a.m. The ribbon cutting ceremony was followed by talks with elected officials at 11 a.m. The public then joined a fun-filled Spring Festival that included nature walks, community booths, art displays, food and kids’ activities till 3 p.m.

The new Education Center building will house exhibits on local natural history, including two endangered species found only in the San Francisco Bay Area: the salt marsh harvest mouse and the Ridgway’s rail. The building provides meeting space and learning facilities for the community, as well as a venue for celebrations. A large multipurpose area is fitted out with audiovisual equipment for presentations, and served by a warming kitchen, storage and restrooms that is available to park visitors via a vestibule.

Cooley Landing was home to a brick manufacturing factory and a shipping dock before San Mateo County used it as a garbage dump between 1932 and 1960. The landfill was then covered with 2 feet of soil and turned into a park, and officially opened to the public in 2012. The Education Center was funded by a Prop 84 grant awarded to the City of East Palo Alto in 2011.

The San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society was proud to be a supporter on the opening day and was represented by Program Administrator Mary Deschene.