Understanding Blackacre

Overview

Welcome to Blackacre State Nature Preserve! Blackacre was donated to the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission in 1979 and became Kentucky’s first state nature preserve. Blackacre was named by Judge Macauley Smith, its donor. As a Jefferson County Public Schools community resource, our 170 acres provide a variety of locations for your environmental field-study experiences.

The Blackacre State Nature Preserve
On the Nature Preserve you can find four, major natural communities: forests, fields, ponds, and streams. A variety of trails provide access to these areas, and maps are available. Centrally located is the Susanne L. Schick Nature Center. A study site within itself, this passive, solar-heated building is a demonstration of our commitment to the environment. Here we reduce our waste through our Recycle Center. We collect rainwater for our gardens and livestock and utilize composting rest rooms. The Schick Nature Center also houses a variety of nature-investigation equipment available for your use. Lights and vent fans are powered by the sun’s energy, converted by an active solar panel.

The Homestead
Beginning in the 1790s, the homestead area was constructed by four generations of Tylers and other families. It includes an Appalachian double-crib-style barn, one of the oldest two-story springhouses in Kentucky, a stone cottage, an old toll road, a stone wall, the Tyler home, and a variety of other outbuildings. An historical interpretive brochure, which serves as the basis for a self-led history hike, is included. For additional background information, ask for a copy of The History of Blackacre.

Three agencies maintain Blackacre, as a result of the ten-year Management Agreement signed in 1996:

Jefferson County Public Schools Center for Environmental Education
9600 Old Six Mile Lane • Louisville, KY 40299 • (502) 485-3295 • Fax: (502) 485-6472
The Jefferson County Public Schools Center for Environmental Education is responsible for designing and implementing the programs at Blackacre. The Schick Nature Center offers unique experiences that help teachers and students interpret and understand the natural environment and their responsibility for it. In addition to programs at Blackacre, we provide school-program support and professional development for teachers. For further information on any of our programs, please contact the Center for Environmental Education Office at 485-3295, or send a request via the Pony mail.

The Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission (KSNPC)
801 Schenkel Lane • Frankfort, KY 40601 • (502) 573-2886
Blackacre was donated to the state in 1979 for use as a nature preserve. The KSNPC is a state agency created in 1976 and directed by a five-citizen board appointed by the governor. The KSNPC mission is to protect Kentucky’s natural heritage by (1) identifying, acquiring, and managing natural areas that represent the best known occurrences of rare native species, natural communities, and significant natural features in a statewide nature preserve system; (2) working with others to protect biological diversity; and (3) educating Kentuckians as to the value and purpose of nature preserves and biodiversity conservation.

The Blackacre Foundation, Inc.
Blackacre Foundation, Inc. • P.O. Box 6053 • Louisville, KY 40206 • (502) 897-0362
The Blackacre Foundation, Inc., is a nonprofit corporation whose mission is to protect and preserve the natural historic and aesthetic character of the land and buildings it manages, to promote education, and to ensure responsible use by the public. For public tours and dates, call 897-0362.

Vision Statement
Blackacre is a green island in a sea of change, its pastoral acres a tonic to life and our spirits. Preservation of land and historic buildings shall continue, as shall the use of the preserve as an Environmental Education Center. The preserve is dedicated to enhancing environmental literacy and to investigating and celebrating the important link between people, nature and the land. For these purposes, the preserve may be used for conferences, projects, studies, and the growing for food, which may be sponsored by any or all of the foundation’s partners. All the activities on the preserve will be conducted in compliance with the Articles of Dedication of Blackacre State Nature Preserve in order to preserve for future generations the magical place we know as Blackacre.

Adopted February 12 , 1998, by the Blackacre Foundation, Jefferson County Public Schools, and the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission for the Comprehensive Management Plan

Letter to the Browser
TO: Browsers of Understanding Blackacre State Nature Preserve
FROM: The Center for Environmental Education Staff
It is our pleasure to introduce you to Blackacre State Nature Preserve through this work, Understanding Blackacre State Nature Preserve. This handbook is the product of the collaboration of the Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) Center for Environmental Education staff and JCPS teachers who have used the Preserve over the past 20 years. The handbook attempts to capture the spirit and the strategies of these teachers, who, with their students, strive to understand and to be more thoughtful about how we live on and care for the land. Although Blackacre’s educational approach honors ecological investigation and scientific research, its foundation focuses on interdisciplinary work and making responsible decisions concerning our environment. Classes will use the academic possibilities of the Preserve differently. Some students will learn new concepts; some will reinforce or enhance existing knowledge; and some will incorporate learning into the larger world. In having educational experiences that are fun, interesting, and connected to the students’ world, students will remember these experiences, which will form the basis for future learning. As you explore lessons and information in this book, think of the context in which these activities would have the greatest meaning. Given your thematic units, how can Blackacre best be used to benefit your students? The staff at Blackacre are available to continue this exploration with you. This handbook is a work in progress. Please use our work; adapt it; change the lessons to have them work in your own outdoor classroom; and share your and your students’ work with us.