News release from the Heritage Farm Museum & Village

HUNTINGTON — The AEP Foundation on Monday awarded the Foundation for the Tri-State $25,000 to put toward the construction of an educational nature center at the Heritage Farm Museum & Village in Huntington. Officials said the new Nature Center facility will be a unique “living classroom” experience where visitors will be able to learn about the wildlife of Appalachia while actually being surrounded by live animals native to the area.

“The new Nature Center, themed ‘An Appalachian Backyard Experience,’ will open people’s eyes to the fascinating fauna and flora we have in Appalachia, and inspire them to conserve what we have for generations to come,” said Heritage Farm wildlife director Rebekah Perry Franks. “Just like the Appalachian people, Appalachian wildlife is extremely tough, unique, resilient and resourceful, but is often overlooked and underappreciated. We want to provide the public a direct way to help with local wildlife conservation.”

Steven Stewart, director of external affairs for Appalachian Power, said the award will provide “catalyst funding for all of the exciting programming that the nature center will be creating for local schoolchildren and visiting guests in the upcoming year.”

Heritage Farm officials said they believe that conservation education should first be about getting people to care about the local wildlife and their habitats through personal encounters, and then informing them of how they are impacting those habitats with their actions every day.

“The Nature Center and its programming will help area school children meet over 30 different learning objectives about life science and the world around them,” said Mary Witten Wiseman, president of the Foundation for the Tri-State.