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! Allison and Hank Didier, Toughest Kids’ Board Members, purchased the120 acre property with the idea of creating a private park as a sanctuary within the city to preserve the land for future generations. The husband-and-wife team are excited to host field trips, and community events 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 a “sustainability center”. Solar panels 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 the purpose of land conservation. Hosting events in the park along with corporate and community partners have come 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 are studying its trees, grasses and water management, the Didiers said. To read more about the project, please read our story in 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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