press release

DHC receives gift to establish environmental education center

Posted 6/10/20

BEACH LAKE, PA — The Delaware Highlands Conservancy (DHC) Board of Directors announced the Van Scott family donation of a 140-acre property in Berlin Township to the Delaware Highlands …

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press release

DHC receives gift to establish environmental education center

Posted

BEACH LAKE, PA — The Delaware Highlands Conservancy (DHC) Board of Directors announced the Van Scott family donation of a 140-acre property in Berlin Township to the Delaware Highlands Conservancy to develop as an environmental learning center and conservancy headquarters; it will also be used as a nature reserve.

The property will be known as the Van Scott Nature Reserve, the conservancy’s first nature reserve and headquarters. A former dairy farm, the property incorporates diverse habitats with abundant opportunities for conservation, environmental education and outdoor recreation on self-guided trails, including large open meadows, forested areas, two ponds, a tributary to Beach Lake Creek and wetlands. A well-maintained residence will become a vibrant headquarters for conservancy staff. Other farm structures will be adapted over time for new and enhanced programs for school children as well as informal educational programming.

The family has provided the following message: “The Van Scott family wishes to join others dedicated to the mission of preserving open spaces for the benefit to life on our homeland Planet Earth. We hope to help in the discovery of better ways to teach better care of the world so that humankind survives and enjoys life, and that the Delaware Highlands Conservancy will engage an ever-enlarging number of brilliant minds so concerned with tomorrow. We appreciate so much the dedication and efforts of the visionaries now involved with the work of the Conservancy. We are pleased and gratified to provide support for the Conservancy in its current and extended mission.”

“The staff and Board of Directors are honored and humbled to receive this incredibly generous gift from the Van Scott family—the largest gift in the Conservancy’s 26-year history,” stated Conservancy Executive Director Diane Rosencrance. “We are inspired by this dedication to environmental education, conservation, and sustainability, and look forward to fully realizing their vision for this special property and welcoming the community to the Conservancy’s new home.”

“Since the Conservancy was first approached with this offer, the Board of Directors and staff have undertaken an intensive planning process and consulted with members of the community to determine how this significant gift will best serve as an environmental education center to benefit the entire region,” stated Board President Karen Lutz. As part of this planning process, the Conservancy Board of Directors voted to embark on a $2.5 million capital campaign to fully realize the value of this gift and to sustainably support the expanded operations of the organization with an endowment fund.

The conservancy protects working farms and forests, clean waters, wildlife habitat, and sustainable local economies with more than 18,000 acres protected to date. For more information, visit www.delawarehighlands.org or call 570/226-3164.

Delaware Highlands Conservancy, environmental education center, Van Scott

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