May 4, 2023

Ebersole Center Land Expansion Gift

Ebersole Foundation will nearly double the size of the Ebersole Center.

NEWS ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

For more information contact:

Robert Kolt 517-881-4446

 

May 4, 2023

Ebersole Foundation to donate 80 acres of land to the Lansing School District to expand Ebersole Center

LANSING, Mich. – The Lansing School District will celebrate the donation of an 80 acre gift of land from the Ebersole Foundation that will nearly double the size of the Ebersole Center located in Wayland Michigan, about 75 miles west of Lansing between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids. The Ebersole Center is a four-seasons environmental and nature education center owned and operated by the district. The gift of adjacent land with a value of nearly $1 million from the Foundation will be formally received at a ceremonial presentation at the Lansing School District Board of Education meeting scheduled for 6 p.m., today Thursday, May 4 in the Board of Education room of Shirley M. Rodgers Administration Building, located at 519 W. Kalamazoo Street in Lansing.

“On behalf of the Lansing School District, our Board of Education and the Ebersole Education Center staff, I want to sincerely thank the Ebersole Foundation for this incredible, generous gift that will reshape our environmental education program at the Ebersole Center for generations to come,” said Superintendent Ben Shuldiner.

“Nearly 400 donors throughout the Lansing area contributed to raise the funds needed to buy this adjacent land next to the Ebersole Center and support our effort,” said Donna Old, Chair of the Ebersole Foundation. “Special recognition should be given to the Dart Foundation, along with Kellie and Marylin Dean for their leadership gifts.”

“The Ebersole Center started as a tent-campground in the 1970’s and today is a jewel in the Lansing School District,” said Benjamin Botwinski, Director of the Ebersole Center. “The donation of this land increases the total size of our center to 238 acres, and the site features a 14 acre lake, many bio-diverse environments including wetlands and mature forests. The Ebersole Center features classrooms, a cafeteria and a conference center along with accommodations to host 120 students in a dorm-like setting for weeklong or overnight education programs for Lansing School District students in a variety of grade levels.”

For more information, please visit the Ebersole Center website. 

11,500 Enrollment by 2025
85% Graduation Rate by 2025
90% Attendance by 2025