Glen Helen Strengthens Connections
By Liz MacDonald '04
Bob Whyte, Executive
Director of the Glen Helen
Ecology Institute (GHEI)
Nearly every graduate of Antioch College has special memories
of Glen Helen. It is a resource not only for Antiochians,
but also the Yellow Springs community and the entire Miami
Valley region. Every year over 100,000 people visit the Glen
for a multitude of purposes: education, exercise, romance,
play, meditation, inspiration, appreciation of nature and
more. This 1,000-acre preserve is supported by a staff of
eleven whose efforts are supplemented by 200 volunteers. It
is a tremendous resource, and one that Antioch is happy to
share.
The College, the Glen and the community are interconnected
in many ways. Because the Glen is adjacent to campus, it is
an easily accessible outdoor classroom and location for experiential
learning. "Very few small liberal arts colleges can say
they have a resource like the Glen. That's unique and a huge
asset," says Bob Whyte, Executive Director of the Glen
Helen Ecology Institute (GHEI). "The Glen brings students
and the public together. I find the interfacing of these two
groups to be incredible."
Making
Change Happen: The Campaign for Antioch College
seeks to strengthen those connections. Glen Helen has identified
needs totaling $6.1 million, broken down into two areas. The
Glen seeks $3.6 million to improve its endowment, and $2.5
million for renovation of its facilities. The Ecology Institute
identified the need for a larger endowment to support and
expand its existing programs. A larger endowment would provide
general operating costs, guarantee faculty and staff positions,
and ensure the maintenance of the land and buildings.
The Glen's facilities are in need of renovation in order
to best fulfill the ecological and educational mission of
the Glen. The majority of the buildings in the Glen were built
in the 50s using recycled materials. Bob Whyte gives an example:
"Trailside Museum was put together in 1952 by students,
faculty, staff and volunteers. They took apart limestone kilns
which lined the railroad and used them to create Trailside.
Now it is 50 years later, and the building has lived a good
life, but you can only recycle materials for so long."
The buildings at the Outdoor Education Center consist of old
army barracks and the reconstructed materials from a skating
rink. "We really need to fix these and build new facilities.
When you have kids coming in on a daily basis you need to
make sure you have safe facilities to put them in. It's camp
- we don't need the Taj Mahal," Whyte laughs, "but
we do need to make sure we have a safe and comfortable environment
for the schoolchildren."
The Glen
Helen Ecology Institute was started in 1996 to protect
the Glen, manage its educational programs and seek funding
to support its activities. Bob Whyte signed on as Executive
Director in 1999. GHEI is responsible for managing the 1,000-acre
preserve, which includes trail maintenance and the removal
of invasive species. GHEI also administers the Outdoor Education
Center, which provides on-site environmental education to
2,500 school children each year through day programs and residential
programs like the summer Eco-Camp. Additional educational
programs include the Raptor Center, which also makes off-site
presentations, and the Trailside Museum, which recently installed
a new exhibit on mammals native to Ohio's deciduous forests.
The work done by the Ecology Institute is not limited to
Yellow Springs. The GHEI also does outreach in the Miami Valley
and beyond. These projects spread the positive reputation
of Glen Helen as well as serving the larger purpose of environmental
education. Whyte explains, "If we do a project in Dayton,
folks know we're from the Glen and then they are learning
about the Glen, as well as enhancing their own local environment."
Whyte hopes to make the GHEI recognizable on a national level
by pursuing research projects throughout Ohio and the rest
of the country. GHEI recently received a grant from the state
of Ohio and federal government to conduct a scientific study
of Lake Erie coastal wetlands. Projects like this not only
enhance the reputation of the GHEI, they also provide excellent
opportunities for students to participate in research and
build skills that they can then bring back and apply in Glen
Helen. "We have a wetland in the Glen we would like to
restore. Funds from the campaign would allow us to do this.
Projects such as this invite student participation in both
the physical work and the research," Whyte says.
The Campaign
for Antioch College has reached the halfway mark, and
Glen Helen is also well on its way to achieving its goals.
Recently the Glen Helen Association - a friends group that
regularly provides funding for the Glen - made an incredibly
generous pledge of $100,000 to the GHEI. "We are tremendously
grateful to the members of GHA for all they do," says
Whyte. "This gift gives us a real jump-start. It will
provide wonderful momentum to the campaign and encouragement
for our volunteers."
Anyone - student, Antioch graduate, villager, or out-of-town-visitor
- who would like to give something back to the Glen through
volunteering or making a financial contribution should contact
Bob Whyte by email at rwhyte@antioch- college.edu or by phone
at (937) 767-7375, or the College Development Office at (937)
769-1200. 
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