This 60-foot wooden observation tower is located in a clearing at the extreme southern tip of the Sibley Peninsula and is accessible only by a rugged 25 km hiking trail or by small boat. Construction materials consist of pressure treated wood, stainless steel, hot dipped galvanized steel and stone. The structure was panelized and prefabricated off site and brought to the construction site by barge. Safety of volunteer workers was the key factor in all aspects of the design, from the staging of the construction to the design of the size of the panels, which enabled easy handling. This tremendous volunteer effort allows naturalists stationed at this remote location to observe and count bird species as they use the Lake Superior peninsula as a jumping off point on their migrations.

Client
Thunder Bay Field Naturalists

Long Point Bird Observatory
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Sleeping Giant Provincial Park

Architect and Structural Engineer
FormStudio Architects Inc.

Contractor
Volunteers including architect and engineer, park staff, field naturalists, Thunder Bay Correctional Centre, and Friends of the Sleeping Giant