SYRACUSE — The Dekko Foundation has awarded the Syracuse-Wawasee Trail Committee a $13,584 grant. The grant will go toward the design and permitting of a boardwalk and trail across the Conklin Bay wetlands and parallel to SR 13 to Grandview Drive.

The ever-growing Syracuse-Wawasee Trail network is growing again. Once complete, this section of the trail will get people off SR 13, onto a boardwalk across the Conklin Bay wetlands. It will connect to the Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation, where trails extend through restored wetlands and out to the lake.

The Dekko Foundation has come on board to support the design of this next section of the Syracuse-Wawasee Trail network, the Conklin Bay boardwalk and trail. This grant, in combination with money from the Kosciusko County Convention Recreation and Visitors Bureau and private donations, will fund the surveying, design and permitting of this complex trail segment. This segment will also connect to the Levinson-LaBrosse Lakes and Wetlands Education Center.

The Dekko Foundation is focused on the development of children up to 18 years of age. According to its website, “Child development research tells us that children … need a stimulating environment.” In early childhood this includes opportunities to learn through their senses. In middle childhood they need the opportunity for safe experiences outside of the home as they develop an interest in the world around them. Often adolescents learn best informally. If designed well, this boardwalk and trail will provide these opportunities, as well as connections to additional opportunities at WACF.

Though there is still much to do, the trails committee hopes to have a bid-ready contract this winter. Some money has already been raised through private donations and once the bidding is complete, more will be raised through grants. Dependant on funding, the trails committee hopes to begin construction in the spring of 2015.

For more information or to donate, go to the trail’s website, syracusewawaseetrails.com, where one can also sign up for the quarterly newsletter. To keep up to date on the latest trail happenings “like” them on Facebook.

The Dekko Foundation invests in projects that help children and youth, up to age 18, build the skills, knowledge and character they’ll need to travel the path toward economic freedom. The grant making is all about ensuring children have the developmental experiences they need, at the time they need them, to build that foundation of independence.

Syracuse-Wawasee Trail Committee is part of the Syracuse-Wawasee Park Foundation, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit foundation. The committee is a volunteer advisory group helping coordinate the planning, construction and maintenance of local trails located on city and county property.