Anne E. Davenport Natural Areas Support Fund established at Miami University

The Natural Areas of Miami University, which is made up of 1,000 acres, or about half of the university’s main campus, and 23 miles of hiking trails, has received support in the form of a new endowment, the Anne E. Davenport Natural Areas Support Fund. The new fund will support the management and care of the Natural Areas, with preferred support of the Marcum Center and its gardens and woods.

According to an article on Miami University’s website, the $100,000 donation to set up the new endowment comes from Anne E. Davenport, who attended Miami University to earn an undergraduate degree in Psychology and Mathematics in 1978 and an MBA in Accounting/Tax in 1983. Davenport explained why she chose to support the university in this way. She is quoted as saying, “Although I owe my successful career to the Miami University Accounting Department, it was the natural areas around Marcum Center, the gardens, the woods, the creek, and the pastures that soothed my soul during my 20 years spent at Miami as a student, an instructor, and in administration. These areas are part of the extracurricular ambiance that makes Miami so different and so special.”

The Natural Areas were established on campus in perpetuity in 1992 to protect and maintain the natural spaces around the university against urban sprawl and to keep them as green space available for academic use and general relaxation. Visitors to the Natural Areas can hike, walk, walk their dogs, meditate, or just puruse the grounds at their leisure. Included within the Natural Areas are the Silvoor Biological Sanctuary, Bachelor Wildlife and Game Reserve, College Woods, Reinhart Reserve, 4-Mile Creek, Western Woods and Beck Reserve, and Kramer Woods,

The Natural Areas webpage states that the president of the university back in 1992 was Paul Pearson, who said of the protection of the Natural Areas, “We all recognize the rapid rate of loss of natural green-belt areas in our state and nation as our population increases, causing growing demands for housing, commerce and industry, highways, power lines, and other support services. I am very concerned that the natural, green-belt areas around much of Miami's Oxford campus will fall victim to these demands.” He also said, “We should take action now to protect these (natural) areas for education and research and for the opportunities they provide for such stress-relieving activities as hiking and the simple observation of nature."

David Gorchov, who is a professor of Biology and the chair of the Natural Areas Committee, shared his thoughts about Davenport’s donation, saying, "I am very grateful, on behalf of the Natural Areas Committee, for Anne Davenport's very generous gift. Her endowment will enhance our ability to maintain and improve the trails in Miami University's Natural Areas, increasing the accessibility of the Natural Areas to everyone. This natural area is extremely important because it lends additional protection to Four Mile Creek and contains excellent habitats for study and research. Gifts — both recent and historical; both large and small — provide nearly all of the financial support for the Natural Areas.”

For more information about Miami University, visit the school’s website.