Property improvements at the Fox-Shank Living Lab for students, teachers and community use.
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Otsego Schools has received a significant gift for the district. In December of 2022, Jackie Shank, Elaine Dunn, Mary Lou Wiles, and Jessica McDevitt successfully sold a 16-acre piece of land located just across Tontogany Creek Road from the Otsego Schools campus to the Black Swamp Conservancy (BSC). These land sellers are descendants of the Fox family, who have been long-standing property owners, business operators, and residents of the Tontogany area for generations. The BSC, a regional nonprofit dedicated to land conservation, donated the entire property to Otsego Schools after implementing various enhancements.
This land parcel has been christened the "Fox-Shank Living Laboratory" and will serve as a dynamic resource for student educational endeavors. Furthermore, the property will be transformed to ensure optimal utilization, making it accessible to students' families and the public for observation and learning when not in use for educational purposes.
As a first initiative to garner financial support for the Fox-Shank Living Lab and help achieve its mission, we are launching a fundraising campaign. Your donations will be combined with others and accumulate to build our treasury for exclusive use for Living Lab property improvements.
To provide a clearer understanding, the mission statement for the Fox-Shank Living Laboratory is as follows:
"To establish and maintain a space for all Otsego students to experience outdoor educational opportunities and to serve as a clean and safe park for public use and enjoyment. All at no or minimal cost to Otsego taxpayers."
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