![A woman gestures while speaking.]()
Katie Bloome, executive director of the Belwin Conservancy, discusses funding goals at her office at the Belwin Conservancy in Afton on Tuesday July 9, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
![A foundation under construction in an opening in a wooded area.]()
Construction is underway on a new accessible Wetlands Building at the Belwin Conservancy in Afton on Tuesday July 9, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
![A man stands behind a small, roofless, red car with trees and a pond in the background.]()
David Hartwell, president of the Belwin Conservancy board, talks about his grandparents, Charles and Lucy Winton Bell, from atop the Druid Circle at the Belwin Conservancy in Afton while giving a tour in his 1960 Fiat Jolly on Tuesday July 9, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
![A diamond-shaped sign near a pond says "Caution Turtle Crossing"]()
A sign cautions drivers to keep a look out for turtles crossing the roads at the Belwin Conservancy in Afton on Tuesday, July 9, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
![A sign with a small roof points out various destinations.]()
Signs direct visitors at the Belwin Conservancy in Afton on Tuesday, July 9, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
![A trail runs past a pond as seen from a nearby hill.]()
A cattail marsh is seen from atop Druid Circle at the Belwin Conservancy in Afton on Tuesday July 9, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
![An architect's rendering of a long and low building with peaked roof and center skylight.]()
About $3.5 million of the Belwin Conservancy's new $10.2 million capital campaign is being used to create the 5,000-square-foot Peter J. King Family Foundation Wetlands Center. The new center, which will open to students in the fall of 2025, will be able to accommodate an additional 5,000 students per year, including students from Stillwater Area Public Schools. It also will be the new home of Belwin's adaptive outdoor education programs for students with special needs, operated for 48 years in partnership with St. Paul Public Schools. (Courtesy of Belwin Conservancy)
Katie Bloome, executive director of the Belwin Conservancy, discusses funding goals at her office at the Belwin Conservancy in Afton on Tuesday July 9, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
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Money will be used to improve educational facilities, open more land to the public and restore critical habitat.
