Refuge to design Learning Lavatories for chamber visitor center
As one of the first stops visitors to Sanibel and Captiva often make, the SanCap Chamber restrooms will become something of a billboard for the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge — modeled after the refuge’s popular and award-winning Learning Lavatories.
Funded by the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge, with support from the Lee County Tourist Development Council, the artistic redesign is expected to debut in February.
“When ‘nature calls,’ visitors will find themselves surrounded by scenes from ‘Ding’ Darling in the restrooms at the back of the chamber visitor center,” DDWS Events, Marketing and Communication Manager April Boehnen, who is working with chamber staff on the project, said. “In 2018, the refuge won the America’s Best Restroom award for its nature-inspired artistic restrooms, and we are using them as a springboard for introducing visitors to the islands and refuge during their ‘pit stop’ at the chamber.”
The design will start with the door and wall just beyond the glass door to the restroom area and continue into each restroom, running along the bank of floor-to-ceiling cupboards that are inside the entry and then inside and out of all the stalls and around the fixtures.
“We have a captive audience for a few minutes to make use of,” DDWS Executive Director Ann-Marie Wildman said when she announced the new project at a recent chamber business luncheon. “It’s a good way to give visitors an introduction while giving the chamber a conversation-piece facility.”
“We are so excited about this fun and informative upgrade to the visitor center restrooms,” chamber President and Chief Executive Officer John Lai said. “We applaud ‘Ding’ Darling for its always innovative and creative ways to turn visitors on to all the refuge has to offer. It really is a gem when it comes to island attractions, and visitors are always interested in learning more. This is a win-win.”
The chamber’s Francis P. Bailey Jr. Visitor Center is at 1159 Causeway Road, Sanibel.