Millbrook Marsh Nature Center in College Township has been selected to participate in the National Recreation and Park Association’s ‘Fund Your Park,’ crowdfunding campaign.
Centre Region Parks and Recreation, which operates Millbrook Marsh, announced the selection on Tuesday and said the goal is to raise $25,000 toward the construction budget for the planned second phase addition to the Spring Creek Education Building
“The Marsh’s programs and dayâ€toâ€day use have grown exponentially over the past few years, and we’re not able to fully provide the types of programs our participants are requesting,” CRPR Director Pam Salokangas said. “Millbrook Marsh is a very special place and we want to make it more accessible to an increased number of users with this project.”
Millbrook Marsh was chosen through a competitive application process to be featured on NRPA’s crowdfunding platform designed exclusively for parks and recreation agencies. NRPA is a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to parks, recreation and conservation efforts.
The overall project budget for the Spring Creek Education Building expansion is $1.7 million, with the aim of adding new and improved program space for the Millbrook Marsh grounds. The building serves as home to the Puddle Jumpers preschool nature education program as well as other classes, meetings and special events such as the annual Earth Day Birthday celebration.
Expansion plans call for a large classroom with a movable divider and two restrooms. The large first floor educational space will be able to be used for programs as well as special events and rentals.
The education building was built in 2011 and included the foundation for the future construction of phase 2. It is the only temperature-controlled building on the Millbrook Marsh site and CRPR says the popularity of the space and programs held there necessitates the expansion. The building currently is limited to 50 people per floor, can only accommodate one group at a time and the demand for space is high. The Puddle Jumpers program is consistently at full capacity and there are no other comparable programs in the region.
For more on the project and to give to the campaign, visit Millbrook Marsh’s Fund Your Park page.
