After decades of absence, activity has found its way into the lower level of the historic Southport Beach House.

The Center for Environmental Education, Demonstration and Applied Research, call it CEDAR, made its debut Saturday, the result of a long-awaited partnership between the city of Kenosha and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

Organizers say the goal is to connect Parkside’s environmental research with the community, all the while giving the public an opportunity to learn more about the Great Lake that sits a few yards to the east.

A coastal management grant helped fund a renovation of the long-dormant lower level of the beach house, which now houses a resource center with exhibits about water and other environmental concerns.

“We’re just trying to become a community resource, really,” said Ben Lehner, environmental education coordinator for the UW-Parkside Center for Community Partnerships.

Lehner said the hope is to attract school field trip groups to the center, as well as other workshop groups for adults.

A schedule covering July and August already includes programs on gardening and composting, mapping and geocaching, bike mechanics and repair, birding and an Aug. 20 program by a Parkside biologist titled “Bugs I’ve Wondered About.”

On Saturday, Brian Boehm, instructor of the bike mechanic programs, had two stationary bikes on display outside of the beach house, demonstrating how manpower can be used to produce electricity. Hooked by belt drive to old treadmill motors, one of the bikes powered a blender, while the other made electric slot cars streak around an oval track.

These activities were part of a daylong celebration of CEDAR that also included live music, beach volleyball and interactive exhibits from environmental groups.

An electronic recycling drive in the parking lot beside the beach house attracted greater-than-expected interest, with people lining up throughout the morning to properly dispose of old televisions and computers.

Kenosha resident Dennis Flath, a retired biology teacher from the Kenosha Unified School District, dropped in to see the exhibits.

Flath said he believes CEDAR can become a useful resource.

“Anytime that we can expose the public to environmental issues, it’s a good thing,” Flath said.

Barry Thomas of Somers, a volunteer for the Sierra Club and Pringle Nature Center, agreed.

“Kids don’t know much about Lake Michigan,” Thomas said. “They think it’s an ocean because you can’t see across it, that there’s salt water.”

CEDAR is located in the Southport Beach House, 7825 First Ave.

Learn more at www.uwp.edu/go/CEDAR.