Mystic — A five-year, $5 million effort will come to fruition next Monday when environmentalists, supporters and others gather to mark the official opening of the welcome center and nature and arts barn at the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center's Coogan Farm on the 70th anniversary of the wildlife sanctuary's founding.

Representatives of the families for whom the two buildings are named will "cut the vine" at 1 p.m. April 25 to officially open the Jules X. Schneider Nature & Arts Barn and John E. Avery House & Welcome Center at the 45-acre property acquired by the nature center in 2013, following a two-year fundraising effort in partnership with the Trust for Public Land.

The nature center raised $5 million for the project, and paid $2.8 million of it for 34 acres of the farm property. The Coogan family, for whom the property is named, donated another 11 acres. Since the property acquisition, about $2.2 million more has been spent on work on the farmhouse and barn, as well as construction of a parking lot and other property improvements, including the community garden.  

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, are expected at the dedication, as well as Tim Sullivan, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development, and state Rep. Diana Urban, D-North Stonington. Members of the Avery and Schneider families will also be there to mark the occasion, which will include tours of the house, barn, so-called Giving Garden, and an easy trail walk.

Maggie Jones, executive director of the nature center, wrote in an April 17 opinion piece published in The Day that "At Coogan Farm, nature and history shapes the future. With its stone walls and stories dating back through the centuries, it offers fertile ground as a model for conservation education, connecting people to nature as the center fulfills its mission: 'To inspire an understanding of the natural world and ourselves as a part of it — past, present and future.'"

The farmhouse is named for the late John E. Avery Jr., and his father, the late John E. Avery Sr.

"It was John Jr. who made a generous donation to the Campaign to Save Coogan Farm, with the request that the renovated farmhouse be named for his late father, John Sr.," said a press release. "In March 2015, John Jr. passed away, and his family decided to make an additional commitment to ensure the farmhouse would remember both John Sr. and John Jr."

The century-old barn at Coogan Farm, located along busy Greenmanville Avenue, is an icon of the property and has been named in honor of the late Jules Xavier Schneider of Stonington. Ana and Jeffrey Schneider, owners of ASA Environmental Products in Stonington, made a donation to the Coogan Farm restoration project in memory of their son who died in 1984 at the age of 13 of cardiomyopathy. Jules Schneider is buried in Elm Grove Cemetery, directly across Greenmanville Avenue from Coogan Farm.

Monday's dedication signals that the Coogan Farm is ready to fully welcome visitors.

The farmhouse includes a welcome center and small retail shop, a teaching kitchen, and conference/classroom space, as well as nature center administrative offices. According to a press release, the barn will serve as both classroom and exhibit space. It has handicap-accessible restrooms, art preparation areas, and a small kitchen. It will be an integral part of the year-round educational programming the center offers, as well as summer camp and other DPNC programs.

 Jones, the executive director, noted in her op-ed that what started as a land preservation project has expanded into something much larger.

The Coogan Farm property is habitat for species listed as high conservation priorities by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, such as the New England cottontail, box turtle and American kestrel. And, it helps to protect the Mystic River and Pequotsepos Brook.

Already, the farm's community garden, the Giving Garden, is supplying tons of fresh produce to local food pantries. And, the Coogan Farm project has helped to establish a greenway that links open space, footpaths, bike trails, and area attractions, shops and schools. 

Monday's dedication, which is co-hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut, falls on the 70th anniversary of the day that a group of local citizens created the Pequot-sepos Wildlife Sanctuary, intended to preserve natural resources and educate people about the environment. And that is exactly what the Coogan Farm is doing, said Jones.

 a.baldelli@theday./com