The Nature and Wildlife Discovery Center (NWDC) is a multi-campus nature preserve and educational center in Pueblo County, Colorado. It includes a 611-acre mountain park, a lodge, a gift shop, a museum in Beulah, Colorado, a small museum and educational center, an open-space park on the Arkansas River in Pueblo, and an adjacent raptor education and rehabilitation facility.[1]
The NWDC provides access to two distinct areas of Pueblo County.
The NWDC's River Campus is located in Rock Canyon on the banks of the Arkansas River at 5200 Nature Center Road,[2] and includes aquatic, riparian, transition, and semi-arid shortgrass prairie habitats. The Raptor Center is adjacent to the river.
The NWDC is organized as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation.[1]
History
The Arkansas Valley Audubon Society established the Audubon River Trails Nature Center in 1979 to preserve a public-use area. In 1981, the Raptor Center was added, and by 1983, the nature center was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization known as "The Greenway and Nature Center of Pueblo." In 2008, it was renamed the "Nature and Raptor Center of Pueblo."
In 1999, the Mountain Park Environmental Association was formed by Pueblo citizens to develop programs and improve access to the mountain park. Since 2000, this organization, which later became the Mountain Park Environmental Center, managed the park on behalf of the City of Pueblo. In 2018, the Mountain Park Environmental Center merged with the Nature and Raptor Center of Pueblo to form the current Nature and Wildlife Discovery Center, which continues to manage the park while the City of Pueblo retains ownership of the land. Since 2018, the center reaches 7,500 people per year through awareness on the dangers raptors face due to environmental changes.
Facilities
The Nature and Wildlife Discovery Center (NWDC) offers a diverse array of opportunities across its two campuses: the River Campus and the Mountain Park Campus. Each campus provides unique habitats and activities for visitors.
River Campus
The River Campus features a mix of aquatic, riparian, transition, and semi-arid grassland habitats. Activities available at this campus include picnicking, wildlife viewing, fishing, kayaking, and nature walks. The campus provides access to several trails and parks, including:
The Raptor Center, established in 1981, is part of the River Campus and focuses on the rehabilitation of birds of prey.[4] It cares for injured and orphaned birds from southeastern Colorado, aiming to release them back into the wild.[5] The center attracts thousands of visitors annually, including out-of-town guests, college students, K-12 students, and the general public. In partnership with the Pueblo Zoo, some non-releasable birds are housed at the zoo, providing educational opportunities for the public and ensuring a quality life for the birds.
The Nature and Wildlife Discovery Center hosts the Colorado Owl Festival each fall, showcasing the variety of species present in the area with an eye toward education and fundraising for rehabilitation programs. Another annual event was the Raptor Resolution Run, a 5-mile run and 2.5-mile walk through Rock Canyon, which kicks off with the release of a live raptor each December. The final Raptor Resolution Run was on Janurary 20th, 2024, celebrating their 12th event.[8] There were 128 participants in the race. The winner for the title of First Place Male Overall Runner was Harrison Walter, with a time of 31:39. The winner of the title of First Place Female Overall Runner was Jessy Narimanov, with a time of 33:25.[9]
In February, the Nature and Raptor Center along with Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Pueblo Zoo team up to put on Eagle Days at the River Campus, in April, the Nature and Raptor Center hosts its annual Earth Day Events to honor the environmental heroes in the community, and in November, NWDC hosts their annual fundraising breakfast.
Education
The Nature and Wildlife Discovery Center provides a wide variety of experiential education to local K-12 students, college and university students, interest groups, and the general public. There are Weekend Raptor Talks at 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays at the River Campus,[10] a monthly fourth Saturday Birdwalk (led by members of the Arkansas Valley Audubon Society) and full-day Summer Nature Camps for children entering Kindergarten to 12th grade. Registration for camps begins in March and continues through May.
Throughout the academic year, NWDC staff design and lead a environmental science program called Earth Studies, which uses the outdoor spaces at both campuses to teach concepts in the natural sciences. Students visit each campus several times and experience the seasons, the wildlife, the plants, and the land across the year. The Earth Studies program received an award, titled "Best New Program Award", from the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education (CAEE), in 2003.[11]
NWDC also operates an early-childhoodpreschool program called Earthkeeper Nature School.[12] For children ages 4–7, it offers a progressive[clarification needed], nature-based curriculum at both campuses.
Each year, the Raptor Center admits, rehabilitates, and releases hundreds of injured, orphaned, or otherwise compromised eagles, hawks, owls, falcons, vultures, and other birds of prey.
NWDC and Southern Colorado Trail Builders constructed the Carhart Trail, a multi-use trail at the Mountain Campus that connects to Squirrel Creek campground and trail system in the San Isabel National Forest. The Carhart Trail is the first trail at the Mountain Campus accessible to mountain bikers as well as pedestrians and horseback riders. The Carhart Trail is named for Arthur Carhart, an early pioneer in the design of recreational access points for National Forest lands.
NWDC also hosts annual river cleanups at the River Campus, coordinating volunteers in cleaning the banks of the Arkansas River through Rock Canyon.
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