Lee Botts Environmental Education Fund
Named for Dunes Learning Center co-founder and President Emeritus, the Lee Botts Environmental Education Fund seeks to create an enduring legacy of learning in the dunes.
Established to support teachers and parents in their efforts to connect children with the unique natural and cultural of the Indiana dunes, proceeds keep Dunes Learning Center programs affordable and accessible through need-based scholarships to deserving youth.
With a mission to provide “an in-depth exploration of the dynamic relationship between people and their environments using the natural and cultural resources of the Indiana Dunes Region where nature and society co-exist,” the possibility of the Indiana Dunes Environmental Learning Center was born in 1966, when Senator Paul Douglas included public education as a mission of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in the legislation that authorized the new National Park.
Lee Botts recalls learning of this proposed addition from Douglas himself, “He believed that lack of understanding of the unique and historically significant resources of the Indiana Dunes had contributed to the intense conflict over the park’s creation and could possibly threaten its future.”
Today, Dunes Learning Center programs serve more than 7,500 individuals annually, adding to a total of more than 80,000 since opening its doors in October of 1998. Your donation today will support the next generation of environmental stewards with unforgettable environmental education experiences in the dunes.
Visit the Dunes Learning Center website to learn more: www.duneslearningcenter.org
