High school students lead fundraiser for McCormick’s Creek State Park trails

Students at Owen Valley High School recently raised $45,000 to support trail restoration efforts at McCormick’s Creek State Park. 
 
After serious tornado damage to the facilities and trails at the park in March 2023, a bridge on Trail 5 remained closed, limiting access to the full length of the highly popular path to Wolf Cave.
 
Members of the school’s Students for the Planet group, who grew up making memories hiking Trail 5 through Wolf Cave Nature Preserve, were determined to restore use of the trail by raising funds to replace the structure. The group formed “Patriots for the Park” and publicized their campaign.
 
Their fundraising efforts, along with contributions from the Indiana Parks Alliance and the Friends of McCormick’s Creek State Park, allowed them to qualify for a matching gift from the Owen County Community Foundation.
 
"Patriots for the Park is deeply appreciative of every organization that came alongside us to help us meet our goal,” remarked Amy Lanham, Spencer-Owen Media Specialist and Students for the Planet advisor. “The students learned many valuable skills, including marketing, graphic and web design, creating and selling products, making and meeting timelines, and communicating a vision. Working with this group will always be one of the most rewarding of my career in education."

“We’re incredibly proud of these student leaders and their commitment to preserving one of our community’s most treasured places,” said Janet Rummel, President & CEO of the Owen County Community Foundation. “Their efforts demonstrate the power of youth-driven philanthropy, and we were honored to match their fundraising to help restore access to the natural beauty of McCormick’s Creek State Park.”

Champak Patel, a retired Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) engineer, donated his time and worked with Indiana State Parks’ landscape architect Caryn Atkinson to significantly reduce the project cost by designing the new bridge. Strauser Construction will begin work on the bridge soon.

DNR Division of State Parks’ trail funding jump started the project, and the dollars raised by Patriots for the Park are reimbursing those expenses. Using this donation, which will go to the Indiana Natural Resources Foundation (IndianaNRF.org), the park will be able to move forward with replacing other damaged trail structures. 

“It is both humbling and encouraging to see how much these high school students and the community support McCormick’s Creek,” said property manager Dwight Brooks, property manager. “Our partners help us make the park a great place for making memories, and the future of philanthropy and McCormick’s Creek are in good hands.”