Posted on October 24, 2010

PNC Foundation Donates $1 Million for Park Education Center

21st Century Parks has announced a $1 million grant from the PNC Foundation for an environmental and scientific education center in the Parklands at Floyds Fork in Louisville, Kentucky.

The PNC Achievement Center for Education and Interpretation will help anchor the 4,000-acre recreation corridor being created along Floyds Fork in eastern and southeastern Jefferson County. Funded by the largest gift the foundation has ever made in the Louisville area, construction of the 3,500-square-foot building will begin next spring.

The education center will include a welcome area with displays and exhibits, two multipurpose classrooms, and a resource center for teachers. According to Dan Jones, board chair and CEO of 21st Century Parks, the center will be designed to accommodate field trips, school and scouting events, and adult and family activities intended to "stimulate curiosity and creative thinking."

"Hands-on learning will promote deeper understanding," David Jones, who has raised tens of millions of dollars for the Parklands and whose family has donated millions more, told the Louisville Courier-Journal. "The environmental benefits [of the project] will be tremendous. It is a magnificent gift."