Nestled in the Kreher Preserve and Nature Center, the Environmental Education Building promotes wonder, exploration and stewardship of our natural environment. Inspired by nature-based learning and imagined as extension of trails in the preserve by which students explore nature, the building is organized along a central corridor “learning trail” bent around existing trees to be preserved. Accessible walkways lead to this corridor thru which light-filled classrooms alternate with office and porches that extend out to the forest. The nearly all-wood building with limited concrete and steel -mass timber and light frame wood structure, wood flooring, wood siding, wood windows and doors- demonstrates locally sourced and produced wood products as sustainable solutions that address climate change with minimum embodied carbon and maximum carbon sequestration. Passive design strategies like butterfly roofs with operable windows and ceiling fans, south facing porches, and covered exterior corridor provide ventilation and shading, reducing air-conditioning in humid Alabama climate. The building is slightly raised from the ground on piles, avoiding concrete slab-on-grade and minimizing site disruption, and rainwater is channeled via a roof scupper to a bioswale for on-site water management. Together, they tangibly tell this sustainable story in a forest setting, educating our community to be good stewards of our environment.