Tennessee Valley Authority
Bellefonte Awards PIE School with Check for Outdoor Classroom
August 3, 2010
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. -- Tennessee Valley Authority employees from Bellefonte Nuclear Plant on Monday presented a $65,000 check to Collins Elementary School to build an outdoor environmental and ecological studies center.
Collins Elementary is part of Bellefonte’s Partners in Education program that supports school projects and programs with in-kind work or donations.
“We wanted to get involved in this community,” Bellefonte Project Director Dan Pratt said. “We had incredible support from TVA employees, business partners and the Scottsboro community for this project. This classroom is going to be a great addition to Collins Elementary.”
The environmental and ecological studies center, or ecotorium, will be an outdoor classroom complete with lab tables, seating and utilities. The ecotorium is designed primarily for environmental studies but can be used by any class wanting to take their studies outdoors.
To fund the project, Bellefonte hosted a golf tournament at the Goose Pond Colony in Scottsboro on July 15. The tournament was a four-man scramble, and prizes were awarded to the winners. Raffle tickets were sold prior to the tournament for a variety of prizes donated by sponsors around the Tennessee Valley.
“We wanted to support our area children and felt like this would be a great way to do so,” said Dennis Sanders, project coordinator and Bellefonte employee. “This outdoor classroom will be a great asset to the school and a new and fun way for kids to learn.”
The Tennessee Valley Authority, a corporation owned by the U.S. government, provides electricity for 9 million people in parts of seven southeastern states at prices below the national average. TVA, which receives no taxpayer money and makes no profits, also provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists utilities and state and local governments with economic development.
Media Contact
Shannon Ridinger, Chattanooga, (423) 751-6507
Media Relations, Knoxville (865) 632-6000