Taft Dedicates New Visitor Education Center At Malabar Farm State Park
$1.4 million facility to showcase a broad spectrum of educational displays, more
Source: www.dnr.state.oh.us
Published: Sep. 25, 2006
LUCAS, OH - As part of the 30th annual Ohio Heritage Days celebration, Governor Bob Taft dedicated the new Visitor Education Center at Malabar Farm State Park in Richland County, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
The 6,500-square foot Malabar Farm Visitor Education Center will house permanent displays, special exhibits and library materials celebrating the literary and agricultural achievements of Pulitzer Prize-winning author and conservationist Louis Bromfield.
“Louis Bromfield’s legacy of conservation and education lives on at Malabar Farm State Park and the new visitor education center,” Taft said. “Ohioans and all who come here to visit and study can be proud of this remarkable new facility and what it represents.”
One display at the new center features interactive panels related to soils, water quality and agricultural conservation practices, as well as an EnviroScape watershed model that can be utilized for school programs and tours. In the near future, a brochure will be available that directs visitors to areas on the farm where these specific conservation practices are employed.
The display was made possible by a grant from the Ohio Environmental Education Fund. The ODNR Division of Wildlife provided more than $100,000 for construction of a new outdoor aviary, focusing on Ohio songbirds. The funds came from the sale of cardinal license plates and the state income tax check-off program.
The new Malabar Farm Visitor Education Center was constructed through an innovative public/private partnership between the State of Ohio and the Malabar Farm Foundation, which contributed $500,000 toward the center’s $1.4 million price tag.
The center also contains administrative offices and the park’s popular gift shop. The building’s design incorporates “green” technologies, including wind, solar and geothermal energy systems.
“Only environmentally-friendly practices, from the high-tech features to the recycled building materials and rain collection barrel, were used in the construction of this new facility,” said ODNR Director Sam Speck.
Today’s dedication was part of the 30th annual Ohio Heritage Days at Malabar Farm State Park, September 23-24. The public is welcome and admission is free.
Heritage Days attractions include craft displays, Civil War and living history demonstrations, book signings and live entertainment. Activities take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.
Malabar Farm State Park is located 12 miles southeast of Mansfield, one mile west of State Route 603 on Pleasant Valley Road.
The park address is 4050 Bromfield Road, Lucas, Ohio 44843.
For Further Information Contact: Louis Andres, Manager Malabar Farm State Park (419) 892-2784 -or- Jane Beathard, ODNR Media Relations (614) 265-6860
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