Hartley Nature Center To Receive $1 Million Grant

Hartley Nature Center was the recipient of a $1 million grant from the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission, which will be used toward a 6,000-square-foot building addition. This new addition will include two new classrooms, new restrooms, community gathering space, reimagined exhibit hall, expanded equipment rental, and additional office and storage space.

So far the capitol campaign has raised 1.8 of the 2.5 million dollars it needs to complete the project. They hope to complete the fundraising within the next few months and then hopefully construction will begin.

Tom O'Rourke, executive director of Hartley Nature Center said "We are thrilled and thankful for this grant award. Now more than ever it's critical to help people build deeper connections with nature, children especially. The building expansion will allow our core programs to grow while providing space for us to develop new offerings for the community."

Last year, Hartley Nature Center provided programs for over 10,000 people from throughout the region, including many early childhood and school-aged children, a news release said. For more on this story click here