Photo by Tom Hindman/Charleston Gazette-Mail
By John McCoy/Charleston Gazette-Mail
In the not-too-distant future, Kanawha County will be home to a spanking-new environmental education center.
The center will be located on 102 acres between the Big and Little Coal rivers near Alum Creek, on property donated to the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources by a local businessman, Jack Workman, in honor of his late wife, Claudia.
When complete, the center will include an outdoor natural area, an indoor nature-education facility and live wildlife displays. In addition, the property will house the DNR’s District V law enforcement detachment as well as its fish and wildlife staff.
“We think this is a legacy property,” said DNR Director Bob Fala. “When we’re all gone, there will still be something there to provide outdoor education and recreation for future generations.”
Fala said he had “no doubt” that school groups from the Kanawha Valley, Teays Valley, Huntington and the state’s coalfield counties would make extensive use of the center.
“When we’re finished developing it, this will be a popular spot,” he said. “Its location just off [Corridor G] makes it very easy to get to.”
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