Holiday Lake 4-H Educational Center, located in Appomattox County and serving 19 localities in Central/Southside Virginia, received a $7,500 grant from the Weyerhaeuser Giving Fund for the Center’s Natural Resource Education Programs (NRE) to serve youth in the counties of Albemarle, Amherst, Appomattox, Buckingham, Campbell, Charlotte, Cumberland and Nelson.

Holiday Lake 4-H Educational Center’s NRE Programs serves to develop awareness and appreciation of the natural environment by utilizing the Science leg of the STEM Program with analysis of the environment with natural resource stewardship training using unforgettable hands-on and field experiences during the school year.

This funding provides the opportunity for hundreds of school age children to attend Natural Resource Education (NRE) programs at Holiday Lake 4-H Educational Center located in the 20,000-acre Appomattox/Buckingham State Forest. Last year over 4,000 youth participated in the NRE Program. The NRE program offers an outdoor class setting for earth science, life science, life-skill development and leadership development. All curriculum is correlated to the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs).

This grant funding enables youth to participate in the 4-H Center’s NRE Programs, which are conducted through in-school programs as well as in-the-field experience at Holiday Lake 4-H Educational Center. Our mission is to instill in each student the need to understand the balance between the natural world and technology. If your school (public, private or homeschool) is interested in participating in the Center’s NRE classes call (434) 248-5444 or visit www. holidaylake4h.com.