The Delaware Center for the Inland Bays celebrates the completion of new facilities with ribbon cutting

OCEAN VIEW, DEL. – The Delaware Center for the Inland Bays hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony. It was too celebrate the completion of a new outreach facility. The project started in 2019, but stalled because of unforeseen circumstances. The Executive Director of the group, Christophe Tulou, is excited about the next step. “This was a 6 year project, and we’ve been working hard throughout the process interrupted by the pandemic; what this represents is a huge community resource.”

The James Farm Ecological Preserve Education Campus serves as a hub for environmental education, community engagement, and research. The 150-acre campus has been managed by the Delaware Center for Inland Bays since 1998. Annually, thousands of classroom students and visitors take tours of the campus. Tulou said the upgraded campus will bring modern amenities.

“We are so delighted to be to this point today, because now we have a place where we can vastly enhance our educational opportunities for students of all ages at the James Farm.”

However, while the project took 6 years to get done, legislators are happy to get it over the line. State Senator of the 20th District, Gerald Hocker, played a pivotal role in getting the project finished. He appreciates the work people have put into the facilities.

“They put their heart and soul in it. The staff, and volunteers, are so remarkable, that has made this place a reality that it is today.”

Senator Hocker said education should be kept on the forefront.

“There is so much history taught here, not only about our bays, but so much about how Sussex County became about, and the importance of Sussex County to the state.”

The features on the campus include an environmental education building, amphitheater seating, integrated signage, red trail realignment, and more.

The address is 30048 Cedar Neck Road in Ocean View. Hours are from dawn to dusk.