The Jay C. Hormel Nature Center celebrated Earth Day this week by looking to the future.

Douglas Wood and the WildSpirit Band performed Tuesday at the Nature Center as part of a fundraiser as nature center organizers move forward on building a $7 million interpretive center to replace the current visitor’s center.

Nature Center Director/Naturalist Larry Dolphin said the event raised money for both the building project and staffing at the nature center. The evening drew in $13,000 to support the staffing in the future, and $1,500 for the new building.

“We’re moving forward step by step,” Dolphin said.

Dolphin said the event went well with over 80 attendees at the concert which was well received.

“Douglas Wood and the WildSpirit Band have been here numerous times before,” Dolphin said. “So we had a really nice time.”

On Wednesday — Earth Day — the nature center hosted a PBS Kids’ “Explore the Outdoors.”

The new building will be placed north of the current maintenance building, which will be moved in the fall to where the current entrance is. Officials say the process will take more than two years to complete, but one big goal this year is to move the maintenance shop to its new location.

Although the nature center received a $5 million grant from the Hormel Foundation for the $7 million project, nature center officials are still trying to raise $1 million for educational exhibits and displays, and they currently have about $350,000 for the displays. They are also hoping to raise another $500,000 for the building project.

“The project is well supported and we’re confident that well be able to obtain our goals,” he added.

The interpretive center will be 15,000 square feet — three times the size of the current building — and it will be built northeast of the maintenance building. A big part of the design will feature renewable energy sources for the building, including 50 or 100 kilowatts of solar-power, water collection to use for flushing toilets and such, and possibly electric car chargers.

The plan calls for 15 exhibits, which could include displays on birds of prey, creatures of the night, prairie/soil and plants, endangered species, and an early childhood room with several hands-on activities.

The nature center has already hired an exhibit display designer and architect — Split Rock Studios — and work will progress on the interpretive center throughout this year.

Dolphin encouraged people to donate if they believe in what the nature center stands for and want to donate to the cause. There are several donation levels and Dolphin said they track them with different birds; the largest level is a Bald Eagle, the next down is the Minnesota Loon, and so on.

“This fundraising process is ongoing and there’s nothing final,” Dolphin said. “We’re hoping by the end of the year we’ll have reached our goal on exhibit displays, and we’ll know if we reached our building project goal.”

To donate, contact the Friends of the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center.