Unique gifts of land to College create education, conservation opportunities
This open-air nature center at Palmetto Creek is part of a land donation in Brunswick County.
Photo Courtesy Bert Exum
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, N.C. State University, has received four donations of land valued collectively at more than $20 million. Located in Brunswick, Chatham and New Hanover counties, the land will be used by the College for education and conservation purposes.
"We are extremely grateful for the generosity and tremendous vision of these donors," said Dean Johnny Wynne, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. "Their exceptional gifts will create new learning opportunities for our students and faculty, will allow our Extension and youth programs to grow and will protect valued land for North Carolinians to enjoy for generations to come."
Two gifts in Brunswick County will provide outdoor learning laboratories for the study of such topics as beachfront erosion, wetlands ecology and dune renourishment.
Bacon Island, donated by development company Holden Beach Enterprises, is a 36.31-acre island valued at $14.3 million. Located in Holden Beach, the land is part of the Regional Environmental Education Consortium, an endowment supporting coastal ecology Extension agents who will develop research-based educational programs in coastal communities.
This is the fourth gift of land made to the College by Holden Beach Enterprises, owned by Jim and Jo Anne Griffin, Joe and Ginger Taylor, and Virgil and Carolyn Roberts.
"We've been so blessed by this property that we want to give back what we've been so freely given," said Virgil Roberts. In the 1930s before the Intracoastal Waterway had been dug, his grandfather used to drive hogs from the mainland to graze on the island at low tide, giving Bacon Island its distinctive name.
Also in Brunswick County is Palmetto Creek of the Carolinas. Bert and Kimberly Exum of Wilmington donated to the College a 16.5-acre site in the Palmetto Creek development, located in Supply. Valued at $1.5 million, the land is also part of the Regional Environmental Education Consortium.
"Our hope is that this land will serve as an outdoor laboratory for long-term studies, as well as an opportunity for the residents of Palmetto Creek to learn more about their natural surroundings," said Bert Exum.
In addition to constructing an 1,800-square-foot wooden boardwalk and nature trails to improve access to the property, Exum's team built an open-air nature center in the neighborhood for students and faculty to post reports for the community to read.
Just up the coast in Wilmington, the College has new opportunities for coastal environmental research and Extension work, thanks to a gift of land from Mayfaire LLC, a New Hanover County development company.
The 6.92-acre site, valued at $3 million, is located in the Mayfaire III development. It, too, is part of the Regional Environmental Education Consortium.
A unique gift in Chatham County will enable learning and conservation opportunities along the Jordan Lake watershed.
The owners of The Legacy at Jordan Lake, LLC, a property development company in Chapel Hill, donated nearly 11 acres to the College. Valued at $1.5 million, the land will be used as an environmental learning laboratory by the College's Agricultural Education Program, the North Carolina Agricultural Foundation, the North Carolina FFA Association and Chatham County Schools.
The company, led by brothers Holland and Alan Gaines, also provided the lead gift of $20,000 toward the creation of an endowment to establish three scholarships and an internship that will provide enhanced educational opportunities for high school students in Chatham County Schools.
"We hope that this gift provides students with unique, hands-on learning opportunities that will complement their classroom experience," said Holland Gaines, president of The Legacy at Jordan Lake and a former FFA member. "This fits right in with our philosophy for developing The Legacy, and we're excited about it."
- Suzanne Stanard
"We are extremely grateful for the generosity and tremendous vision of these donors," said Dean Johnny Wynne, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. "Their exceptional gifts will create new learning opportunities for our students and faculty, will allow our Extension and youth programs to grow and will protect valued land for North Carolinians to enjoy for generations to come."
Two gifts in Brunswick County will provide outdoor learning laboratories for the study of such topics as beachfront erosion, wetlands ecology and dune renourishment.
Bacon Island, donated by development company Holden Beach Enterprises, is a 36.31-acre island valued at $14.3 million. Located in Holden Beach, the land is part of the Regional Environmental Education Consortium, an endowment supporting coastal ecology Extension agents who will develop research-based educational programs in coastal communities.
This is the fourth gift of land made to the College by Holden Beach Enterprises, owned by Jim and Jo Anne Griffin, Joe and Ginger Taylor, and Virgil and Carolyn Roberts.
"We've been so blessed by this property that we want to give back what we've been so freely given," said Virgil Roberts. In the 1930s before the Intracoastal Waterway had been dug, his grandfather used to drive hogs from the mainland to graze on the island at low tide, giving Bacon Island its distinctive name.
Also in Brunswick County is Palmetto Creek of the Carolinas. Bert and Kimberly Exum of Wilmington donated to the College a 16.5-acre site in the Palmetto Creek development, located in Supply. Valued at $1.5 million, the land is also part of the Regional Environmental Education Consortium.
In Chatham County (from left), Alan and Holland Gaines join Dean Johnny Wynne to donate land and scholarship endowment gifts to the College.
Photo by Daniel Kim
Photo by Daniel Kim
In addition to constructing an 1,800-square-foot wooden boardwalk and nature trails to improve access to the property, Exum's team built an open-air nature center in the neighborhood for students and faculty to post reports for the community to read.
Just up the coast in Wilmington, the College has new opportunities for coastal environmental research and Extension work, thanks to a gift of land from Mayfaire LLC, a New Hanover County development company.
The 6.92-acre site, valued at $3 million, is located in the Mayfaire III development. It, too, is part of the Regional Environmental Education Consortium.
A unique gift in Chatham County will enable learning and conservation opportunities along the Jordan Lake watershed.
The owners of The Legacy at Jordan Lake, LLC, a property development company in Chapel Hill, donated nearly 11 acres to the College. Valued at $1.5 million, the land will be used as an environmental learning laboratory by the College's Agricultural Education Program, the North Carolina Agricultural Foundation, the North Carolina FFA Association and Chatham County Schools.
The company, led by brothers Holland and Alan Gaines, also provided the lead gift of $20,000 toward the creation of an endowment to establish three scholarships and an internship that will provide enhanced educational opportunities for high school students in Chatham County Schools.
"We hope that this gift provides students with unique, hands-on learning opportunities that will complement their classroom experience," said Holland Gaines, president of The Legacy at Jordan Lake and a former FFA member. "This fits right in with our philosophy for developing The Legacy, and we're excited about it."
- Suzanne Stanard