March 4, 2022 was an exciting day for our Toughest Kids as we held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Sustainability Education Center at Greenville’s new park – The Preserve at Lakewood! When the owners of the privately-owned,120 acre property chose to conserve the land, it became the perfect place to transform into a private park and sanctuary within the city for the use and enjoyment of all residents. Property Fund manager and Toughest Kids board member Hank Didier highlights the Center as the perfect hands-on educational tool and location for field trips, community events and more for years to come with students eating lunch at the picnic tables while enjoying an off-grid day at the preserve.
Sustainability Center
What once was a metal building quickly had a new purpose as the Sustainability Education Center with the help of Colite Technologies. A solar panel system and skylights were added to the roof and education panels mounted to the walls to tell the story of sustainability. The center provides a hands-on display of renewable energy sources and facts about energy usage, land conservation, global initiatives and more. Toughest Kids and several other corporate and community partners came together to make the Center possible.
The Sustainability Education Center provides outdoor recreation opportunities and a hands-on display of the critical, earth-saving power of wind and solar energy for our Toughest Kids as part of a healthier, more stable future. The park is managed by the Atlantic Coast Conservancy with visits on an annual basis, at a minimum, to make sure no development is taking place. Through reservations, the private park is open to the public for cross country training, camping, fundraiser 5Ks and more. Clemson University students have also been able to conduct studies on its trees, grasses and water quality. To read more about the project, please see the Greenville News here.
We are forever grateful for our partners who worked to make this happen: Toughest Kids, LLC, Fairview Custom Homes, Lakewood SC, and DHIP Group – Natural Resources Investments.
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