‘Model could scale statewide’: Gentex builds nature-based daycare

In West Michigan, where long waitlists and high costs keep many parents from reliable child care, a new model is taking root behind Gentex Corp.’s headquarters. 

The automotive technology company has created a 43,000-square-foot, nature-based early learning center on its Zeeland campus. It’s designed to remove one of the biggest obstacles to keeping people in the workforce, which is affordable, high-quality daycare, while giving children a world-class place to learn and play outdoors. 

The center still needs to go through the licensing process before it can open. 

Employers across the region have struggled to bring workers back since the pandemic, when many parents couldn’t find care. Ottawa County officials report that the area consistently faces a shortage of licensed child care slots, with second-shift care nearly impossible to find.

Gentex CEO Steve Downing says the shortage hit home when the company tried to recruit and retain staff. 

“With employees, there was no access to daycare,” Downing says. “It’s incredibly expensive and one of the most constrained parts of getting people back into the workforce. We tried a bunch of other options. They all failed for various reasons.”

Employer engagement

The manufacturer saw an opportunity not only to meet an internal need but also to create a template for other employers. 

“There’s nothing proprietary,” Downing says. “This is something a lot of companies should be looking at, trying to take the risk, invest in their companies and their families, to make sure there is world-class daycare out there.”

Patrick Cisler, president of the Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area, says the effort highlights the power of employer engagement. 

“We know the data. There’s a great need,” Cisler says. “Getting employers involved, alongside private childcare providers and nonprofits, is key. This project shows what’s possible when everyone steps up.”

Instead of waiting for the market to fix itself, Gentex partnered with the Outdoor Discovery Center Network (ODC) to create the Gentex Discovery Preschool. The company provided land and funding. ODC designed and now operates the program, which serves infants through preschoolers and offers second-shift care, a rarity.

“At the time, there wasn’t anybody really doing a second-shift daycare, especially in a model like this,” Downing says. “It was important for us to make sure that families working different schedules had the same access to quality care.”

Using pandemic relief funds

Travis Williams, CEO of the ODC Network, says the project is “a milestone for our community,” and marks the organization’s first corporate partnership school. 

“Gentex’s investment and collaboration leverage public ARPA (federal pandemic relief) funds to impact hundreds of lives each year,” Williams says. “This is not just about building one facility. It’s about the ripple effect it will have in the childcare and preschool sector for many, many years to come.”

Hadley Streng, president of the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation, notes that Ottawa County made child care a priority when allocating ARPA funds. 

“When Ottawa County received $57 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding, they engaged with leaders across the county to identify transformative projects,” Streng says. “Child care was determined to be a critical need throughout the county, and partnering with Gentex was the first project we onboarded.” 

About $7.5 million was set aside for child care, and this is the first project to receive the funds, which must be distributed by the end of 2026. The Gentex facility can potentially take up to 300 children. 

The Holland/Zeeland and Grand Haven community foundations, Ottawa County’s largest, collaborated with the county to determine how to allocate funds to projects, and continue to work on efforts to address the need for additional early childhood spots.

Streng adds that while the program is reserved for Gentex families, the impact spreads outward. 

“Other ODC network locations have opened through similar partnerships, adding hundreds of early childhood spots,” she says. “This is exactly the type of collaboration those funds were meant to spark.”

Williams says Gentex’s financial backing allowed ODC to focus on what it does best. 

“This is the first project in my 25-year career where I haven’t worried about the checkbook,” he says. “Gentex’s bold vision makes it possible for us to think bigger about what early childhood education can look like.”

Bringing nature to early childhood education

The center’s design reflects ODC’s philosophy that children thrive when they can explore the natural world. Trails, outdoor classrooms, and play areas invite students to learn through discovery, a method research links to stronger curiosity and healthier habits.

“This is not just daycare,” says John Vincent, ODC’s chief of early childhood education. “This is early childhood education, and it’s nature-based. Starting at birth, children are learning through play, exploration, and intentional teaching. Families are engaged as partners in experiences designed to give children the very best start in life.”

Vincent points to ODC’s four other nature-based schools, which serve more than 400 children each year, as proof of the approach. 

“Research shows that children who learn in nature develop stronger self-regulation, deeper curiosity, and healthier habits,” he says. “Our own experience confirms it. We know this works.”

Downing hopes the Gentex Discovery Preschool will inspire other companies to make similar investments. 

“We feel like this is a model that could scale statewide, something that a lot of companies should be looking at,” he says.

Cisler agrees, calling the collaboration a sign of what’s possible when the private sector takes the lead. 

“Projects like this demonstrate that employers can play a huge role in solving the child care crisis,” he says. “It’s a template worth replicating.” (Gentex)

The new facility was unveiled with a ribbon-cutting on Friday, Sept. 19, attended by community leaders, state and local officials, and business development groups. After remarks from Downing, Williams, and Vincent, guests toured classrooms and outdoor play spaces designed to spark discovery. 

“Every time I walk through here, I’m blown away by what it is,”  Downing says. “This is pretty amazing.”