ArcelorMittal
recently awarded a $20,000 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)
related grant to the Porter County Parks Foundation to support the
partnership between the Porter County Career and Technical School (PCCTS)
and the Porter County Parks & Recreation Department, as the two agencies
work to build an educational dock on the “No-Can-Do Pond” at Sunset Hill
Farm County Park in Liberty Township in 2015.
The dock is part of
the on-going Pond and Prairie Restoration and engages the PCCTS students in
STEM activities by utilizing their expertise and assistance to design,
engineer and potentially build the proposed dock. “This is a one of kind
partnership that not only helps to make our kids more employable but helps
to improve our quality of life in Porter County. This will benefit the more
than 3,500 field trip students and thousands of daily visitors at the park,”
said Walter Lenckos, Superintendent for Porter County Parks and Recreation.
The dock will be
utilized by park staff and volunteers for field trips and educational
programming to teach local students and park visitors about native species,
water quality, wetlands, pond environments and human impact on them.
“ArcelorMittal
is proud to partner with Porter County Parks Foundation on a project that
deeply connects two of the chief tenants of our philanthropic giving program
- science education and environmental conservation,”
said Marcy Twete, Manager, Corporate Responsibility, Americas and Executive
Director, USA Foundation, ArcelorMittal. “In addition, ArcelorMittal
believes strongly in the power of public-private partnerships and looks
forward to seeing this project move forward with the help of key partners in
the public, private, education and nonprofit sectors.”
Porter County Parks
has partnered with ArcelorMittal, Porter County Career and Technical School,
the Porter County Parks Foundation, DNR, Soil & Water Conservation District
of Porter County, and Purdue North Central (Westville Campus) to restore the
pond and prairie at Sunset Hill Farm County Park.