This Sustainable Treehouse Is Going Down in History

The Swiss Family Robinson treehouse has nothing on the BSA’s Sustainability Treehouse at the Summit Bechtel Reserve.

Why? It’s award-winning, inspires sustainable practices, and now, it’s going down in history. Read on to get the scoop on this historic Scouting treehouse.

What Is the Sustainability Treehouse?

Located at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia, the five-story Sustainability Treehouse shares stories about sustainability and preservation in ways that captivate Scouts to look at nature from a different perspective. Filled with surprising natural exhibits and unexpected lessons around every corner, the treehouse invites Scouts to explore Scouting’s conservation heritage and encourages Scouts to be good stewards of the environment. 

This year the treehouse has garnered some major attention for it’s unique design and emphasis on conservation. It was awarded SEGD’s highest Honor Award, first place in the Interiors and Environments category of Core77’s Design Awards and snagged another win by taking the top Gold Award in the Environments category of IDSA’s annual IDEA Awards.

Educating Scouts of the Future

Documentary photographer Carol M. Highsmith captured photos of the treehouse to be archived at the U.S. National Archives and the Library of Congress, the largest library in the world. The Library of Congress serves as a prime research source for educators and students of American and global history and culture. 

The photographs will be archived in perpetuity, for viewing by future generations. They will also be visible, once processed and catalogued, at the Library of Congress website. In addition, a small sampling of the photos of West Virginia will be viewable on a “This Is West Virginia!” website.

Have you visited the Sustainability Treehouse at the Summit? Tell us in the comments below what you and your Scouts learned from the experience!