Francis Marion University, a 4,200-student college in Florence, South Carolina, is set to take over an 8,500-acre “outdoor classroom” for students studying forestry to learn about forest management. The state’s Office of Resilience, which operates the program, plans to use $20 million in federal environmental grant funding to purchase the property on behalf of Francis Marion University. The land, known as Duck Ponds, will be used as a space for higher learning and research, as well as higher education and research. The funding for the purchase comes from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Climate Pollution Reduction Grant and The Nature Conservancy of South Carolina and The Office ofResilience. This move marks the first time for the Office of Reilience to purchase large swaths of undeveloped property across the state, part of a larger effort to preserve the land and reduce flooding when natural disasters occur. The college's forestry program will work hand-in-hand with an associate's degree program offered at Horry-Georgetown Technical College, allowing students to transfer their credits into a bachelor's degree.