The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners approved a $4.1 million project to build a sensory treehouse at the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center. The treehouse will allow visitors with disabilities to experience the sensation of being in a canopy of trees while in a controlled environment.

The treehouse is designed to accommodate all ages and abilities.

“The sensory treehouse will provide people the opportunity to connect with the ecosystem and challenge their senses,” said Chairwoman Nicole Hendrickson. “It will help children without disabilities perceive the world as experienced by children with disabilities and the other way around  by immersing them in nature.” 

The sensory treehouse will resemble a giant American chestnut tree of Georgia’s historic forests. The structure will include a wide range of materials and textures, ranging from rough to smooth, hard to soft, warm to cool, and light to dark.

To reach the sensory treehouse, users will travel on an ADA-accessible boardwalk with self-directed learning stations, or nodes, that connect visitors to nature by touch, smell, or sight.

In the treehouse building, visitors will be immersed in an indoor sensory exhibit that uses video, audio and scents to allow visitors to experience 24 hours in a piedmont forest. These sensory features will provide the perception of all the elements that one would experience climbing into a tree canopy.

While users are close to the ground, the sloping landscape will create the illusion of height, so they feel as if they are soaring among the trees.

The project is funded by your pennies from the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax program, known as SPLOST. Construction is scheduled to begin in the fall and take about a year to complete.