The quiet beauty of WVU Jacksons Mill Center for Lifelong Learning will add another attraction to its 80-year-old legacy at 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, when volunteers, donors and visitors open and dedicate a self-guided environmental trail.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony and an inaugural tour will open the upgraded trail, which officially will be named The Dominion Trail: An Environmental Education Tour.

A $10,000 grant from the Dominion Foundation is financing the educational trails development. Last fall, Dominion�€the nations largest gas and electric company�€awarded the grant to the West Virginia University Extension Service, which operates WVU Jacksons Mill as a special-mission campus.

The public ribbon-cutting ceremonies will be held at the trails entrance, which is across from the swimming pool at the north end of the WVU Jacksons Mill campus. Speakers will include representatives of Dominion and West Virginia University.

The dedication will conclude with an inaugural tour and a reception.

David Mann, executive director of WVU Jacksons Mill, will conduct the tour and explain improvements to the area. The upgraded trail begins near the swimming pool, winds through the woods and ends near the Administration Building. The Dominion Trail joins a network of other educational trails at WVU Jacksons Mill.

In the future, guests will enjoy the Dominion Trail as a self-guided tour, which features two gazebos, four informational kiosks, ten benches and six mailbox exhibits. The mailbox exhibits contain three-ring binders that highlight details about bugs, butterflies, wildflowers, trees, birds, wetlands and herbs found in the area.

Each year, more than 110,000 guests enjoy WVU Jackson Mills conference, camping and heritage facilities.

For information about the dedication or event accommodations, call 1-800-287-8206, or check WVU Jacksons Mills Web sitehttp://www.wvu.edu/~exten/.