Germantown Academy turns wet athletic fields into nature preserve

As part of its campus master plan, Germantown Academy is breaking new ground.

The oldest nonsectarian private day school in the country has set aside six acres of its 126-acre Fort Washington campus to restore wetlands and meadows.

Called the Preserve, the area reduces runoff into Wissahickon Creek, which crosses the campus; improves wildlife habitat; and provides hands-on environmental learning opportunities for students from GA, other schools, and the community.

It's a key component in a school mission to embrace sustainable design and celebrate the Wissahickon.

"I think, in the end, this could be what really distinguishes Germantown Academy," said James W. Connor, head of school. "It's a unique resource."

The idea for the Preserve crystalized three years ago as the school, with 1,090 students from prekindergarten through 12th grade, was developing a $120 million campus plan to ensure a school founded in 1759 would be "18th century on the outside, 21st century on the inside." Yearly tuition is $19,485 to $27,975.

The school's four athletic fields were in a flood plain, and often were unusable. For years, officials debated how to manage them.

Connor credits Mike Rufo of Rufo Contracting in Conshohocken, who is managing the first phase of the campus plan, with suggesting another approach. "If these fields aren't working, why don't you get rid of them?" Rufo asked.

GA decided to move the fields to higher ground, but what to do with the flood plain? Landscape architect Eric Tamulonis of Wallace Roberts & Todd, a Philadelphia planning and architectural firm developing the campus blueprint, came up with a plan for how GA's flood plain could become an educational and environmental resource. His drawing showed wetlands, forests, meadows, filtration basins, outdoor "classrooms," trails, wildflower beds, and a butterfly garden.

GA officials were amazed.

"That is when we knew we had something special," Connor said.

The idea of a wetlands learning area and community resource captured the imaginations of the trustees and key fund-raisers interested in environmental issues.

Moving the athletic fields and developing the Preserve accounted for just over $7 million of the $53 million spent on Phase 1 of the plan.

Connor said Wallace Robert's lead architect, Maartin Pesch, helped the school take a fresh look at the Wissahickon, which had been a part of the campus since GA moved from Germantown to Fort Washington in 1965.