Catherine’s Learning Barn—the sanctuary’s first educational facility—celebrates a barn raising.
Shed Business Journal is a publication for folks in the portable storage industry, and the Build of Issue normally focuses on some type of shed or related building.
However, sometimes a build comes around that transcends the portable aspect of the industry.
That’s the case with the recent groundbreaking and ongoing construction of Catherine’s Learning Barn at the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary in Newtown, Connecticut.
The sanctuary’s first educational facility is a poignant nod to its namesake and Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim, Catherine Violet Hubbard.
In early December, days before the 12th anniversary of the Sandy Hook tragedy, the sanctuary hosted a barn raising that framed out its 3,400-square-foot facility in one day. Construction teams formed the lower framing sections of the facility while supporters drove wooden pegs into the beams. The walls were lifted by crane, transforming a simple cement slab into a fully framed facility within hours.
Tucked beside the sanctuary’s historic 1920s bank barn, with a sweeping vista of the sanctuary’s paddocks and community gardens, Catherine’s Learning Barn will serve as an educational destination. Students will gather in the multi-functional room to learn about the animals, insects, and habitats that make up the sanctuary’s expansive 34 acres.
The educational facility will serve as a home base in the event of inclement weather or a spot to check in on findings and discoveries.
The space will also welcome the community to participate in a robust calendar of interactive workshops focused on animal care and protection, spotlighting affiliated rescue organizations and their adoptable animals.
Opportunities to join guided hikes or learn new skills from duration-based programs, such as backyard beekeeping, will ensure there are offerings to peak a variety of curiosities and ensure humans learn how to help all animals live free from harm in homes and native habitats. Catherine’s Learning Barn will be completed spring of 2025.
“We’re thrilled to help bring Catherine’s Learning Barn to life,” says Peter Paulos, the principal architect of the project. “I’m honored to be a part of such an incredible project and share a space which supports the sanctuary’s mission for both humans and animals. It’s the most meaningful project I have ever worked on.”
In addition, Catherine’s Learning Barn will feature a commercial kitchen to cater private, on-site events and host farm-to-table cooking classes.
“HAFSCO is proud to contribute to this project’s commercial kitchen affording the CVHAS team to offer farm-to-table offerings for programs and events. Each member of our family-owned business felt Catherine’s Learning Barn kitchen was the perfect way to support the incredible work provided by CVHAS to countless recipients,” says Tom Capobianco, HAFSCO chief executive officer.
The educational facility is the first step toward the main building, allowing an expansion of programming and services while preparing for the bigger construction project that will be a certified Living Building, including a veterinary in-take center, library, and welcome center.
“Despite lacking a permanent structure, we’ve educated thousands and helped hundreds of animals find homes, all under tents and borrowed spaces,” says Jenny Hubbard, Catherine’s mother and president of the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary. “While proud of our achievements, we’re committed to expanding our impact.
“The poignancy of this barn raising lies in its symbolism of community coming together to create a lasting structure that will serve as a beacon of hope and education.
“Just as traditional barn raisings brought neighbors together in a spirit of cooperation and shared purpose, the construction of Catherine’s Learning Barn represents a collective effort to honor Catherine’s memory and further the sanctuary’s mission. This communal act of building not only provides a physical space but also embodies the resilience and unity of a community healing through compassion and care for animals and each other.”
As stewards of the environment, the sanctuary has taken great measures to ensure the construction does not disrupt or negatively impact the sanctuary property or the environment. In fact, the site of the new educational facility was once home to a very old and dilapidated farmhouse that was both an eyesore and a safety hazard. Catherine’s Learning Barn not only repurposes the space but beautifies it with new life and radiance.
The project has been supported in part by Connecticut businesses and supporters including Country Carpenters, PH Architects, Verdi Construction, HAFSCO, and e2 Engineers.
“When the team from Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary (CVHAS) reached out to us with a request to partner with them on their project we were thrilled and honored by the opportunity to work with such an admirable mission,” says Roger Barrett Jr., president and owner of Country Carpenters Inc.
“We showed them a few of our different models and they found one that worked best for them and is a perfect fit for the property. With the team of businesses that CVHAS has brought together to complete this project, from the architects and engineers at PH Architects and E2 Engineers to the construction company and kitchen builders at Verdi Construction and HAFSCO, we can’t wait to see the final product once construction is complete.”
