List of nature centers in Texas

Last updated

USA Texas location map.svg
Green pog.svg
Green pog.svg
Green pog.svg
Green pog.svg
Green pog.svg
Green pog.svg
Green pog.svg
Green pog.svg
Green pog.svg
Green pog.svg
Green pog.svg
Green pog.svg
Green pog.svg
Green pog.svg
Green pog.svg
Green pog.svg
Green pog.svg
Green pog.svg
Texas Nature Centers (Hover mouse over pog to popup clickable link)

This is a list of nature centers and environmental education centers in the state of Texas.

To use the sortable tables: click on the icons at the top of each column to sort that column in alphabetical order; click again for reverse alphabetical order.

NameLocationCountyRegionSummary
Acton Nature Center of Hood County Granbury Hood North Texas website, 74 acres with over 5 miles of trails
Armand Bayou Nature Center Houston Harris Texas Coastal Bend2,500-acre urban preserve, includes a boardwalk through forest and marshes, live animal displays, bison and prairie platforms and butterfly gardens
Austin Nature & Science Center Austin Travis Texas Hill Country website, operated by the City in 351-acre Zilker Park, includes hands-on educational exhibits, live native animals, an outdoor paleontology exhibit
Bay Education Center Rockport Aransas Texas Coastal BendOperated by the University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute, ecosystem of the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve
Baytown Nature Center Baytown HarrisTexas Coastal BendOperated by the City, 450-acre recreation area and wildlife sanctuary
Bear Springs Blossom Nature Center Pipe Creek Bandera Texas Hill Country website, 125 acres
Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park Mission Hidalgo Texas Coastal Bend764 acres, headquarters of the World Birding Center, exhibit hall, observation tower, bird blinds, guided walks
Bob Jones Nature Center Southlake Denton North Texas website, 758 acres, operated by the City
Brazos Bend State Park Needville Fort Bend Texas Gulf Coast4,897 acres, nature center operated by the state and Brazos Bend State Park Volunteer Organization [1]
Canyon of the Eagles Lodge and Nature Park Burnet Burnet Central Texas website, resort and nature park, located on 940 acres of Lower Colorado River Authority land, includes the Eagle Eye Observatory, nature programs
Cattail Marsh Beaumont Jefferson Texas Coastal Bend900 acres, located at Tyrrell Park, operated by the city. The area is a constructed wetland with diked cells of shallow water and mud flats. It is located along Hillebrandt Bayou [2] [3] [4]
Cedar Ridge Preserve Dallas Dallas North Texas website, formerly Dallas Nature Center, 600 acres, operated by Audubon Dallas, about 9 miles of trails, butterfly gardens, live mammals, birds, insects and reptiles
Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center and Botanical Gardens Fort Davis Jeff Davis Trans-Pecos 507 acres features 20-acre botanical garden, greenhouse with about 200 species of Chihuahuan Desert cacti
Cibolo Nature Center Boerne Kendall Texas Hill Country website, 100 acres
Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center Cedar Hill DallasNorth Texas website, 205 acres
East Texas Ecological Education Center Tyler Smith Northeast Texas website, 82 acres, visitor's center, indoor and outdoor classrooms, wetlands, grasslands and ponds
Eaton Hill Nature Center Sonora Sutton Texas Hill Country website, 37 acres
Edinburg Scenic Wetlands Edinburg Hidalgo Texas Coastal Bend website, 40 acres, part of the World Birding Center, educational exhibits on fish and aquatic life, computer programs about birds and butterflies, telescopes and interpretive audio station
Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary HoustonHarrisTexas Coastal BendOperated by Houston Audubon, 17 acres along Rummel Creek
Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge Fort Worth Tarrant North Texas website, 3,621 acres of forest, wetlands and prairie, operated by the City
Fredericksburg Nature Center Fredericksburg Gillespie Texas Hill Country website, 10 acres, located in Lady Bird Johnson Park
Gulf Coast Bird Observatory Lake Jackson BrazoriaTexas Coastal Bend website, interpretive center and research center for public education and volunteer-based avian monitoring programs
Hana & Arthur Ginzbarg Nature Discovery Center Bellaire HarrisTexas Coastal Bend website, located in 4-acre Russ Pitman Park
Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary McKinney Collin North TexasExhibits on Texas' venomous snakes, geology, seashells and marine life, North Texas ecosystems, 289-acre wildlife sanctuary with over 6 miles of trails
Helotes Creek Nature Center Helotes Bexar Central Texas website
Houston Arboretum and Nature Center HoustonHarrisTexas Coastal Bend155 acres with over 5 miles of trails
Jesse H. Jones Park & Nature Center Humble HarrisTexas Coastal Bend website, operated by the County, 312 acres
John Bunker Sands Wetland Center Combine Dallas CountyNorth Texas website, Private non-profit, 2,000 acres
Kleb Woods Nature Center Tomball HarrisTexas Coastal Bend website, 134 acres
Lamar Bruni Vergara Environmental Science Center Laredo Webb Texas Coastal Bend website, part of Laredo Community College, contains representations of the Rio Grande ecosystem and live specimens of plant and animal life
Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area Lewisville Denton North Texas website, operated by the University of North Texas, Texas A&M University, the City of Lewisville, and the Lewisville Independent School District, over 2000 acres with over 7 miles of trails
Matagorda County Birding Nature Center Bay City Matagorda Texas Coastal Bend website, 34 acres
McAllen Nature Center McAllen Hidalgo Rio Grande Valley , 33 acres, two miles of trails, operated by McAllen Parks & Recreation Department, This is an important site, both for wildlife, and for people, as less than 3% of the native habitat remains in the Rio Grande Valley.
McKinney Roughs Nature Park Bastrop Bastrop Central Texas website, 1,100 acres, operated by the Lower Colorado River Authority, includes the Mark Rose Natural Science Center
Meadows Center for Water and the Environment San Marcos Hays Texas Hill CountryPart of Texas State University, features glass-bottomed boat tours of the San Marcos Springs, a discovery hall and aquarium exhibit; formerly the Aquarena Center
Miller Springs Nature Center Lake Belton Bell Texas Hill Country website, A 260-acre scenic natural area located between the Leon River and nearby 40 foot high bluffs with 10.7 miles of hike and bike trails through prairie, wetlands and forests.
Mitchell Lake Audubon Center San Antonio Bexar Central Texas website, 1,200 acres including the 600-acre Mitchell Lake
National Butterfly Center Mission Hidalgo Rio Grande Valley 100 acres, butterfly conservation, habitat conservation, native plant sanctuary, trails, butterfly center, and educational tours
North Texas Wildlife Center PlanoCollin CountyNorth TexasNorth Texas Wildlife Center (NTXWC) is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization committed to the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of local injured or orphaned wildlife.
Oso Bay Wetlands Preserve and Learning Center Corpus Christi, Texas Nueces County, Texas South Texas website
Rio Bravo Nature Center Eagle Pass Maverick West Texas website, environment of the Rio Grande
River Bend Nature Center (Texas) Wichita Falls Wichita North Texas website, 18 acres
River Legacy Nature Center Arlington Tarrant North Texas website, adjacent 1,300-acre River Legacy Parks
Riverside Nature Center Kerrville Kerr Texas Hill Country9 acres, arboretum with wildlife and native plant sanctuary, located on the Guadalupe River
Sabal Palm Sanctuary Brownsville Cameron Texas Coastal BendOwned by the National Audubon Society and operated by the Gorgas Science Foundation, 557 acres, guided tours of the late 19th-century plantation house
San Angelo Nature Center San Angelo Tom Green Edwards Plateau website, operated by the City, collection of native animals
San Marcos Nature Center San Marcos Hays Texas Hill Country website, operated by the City in the 6-acre Crook Park, focus is the San Marcos River watershed ecosystem
Sea Center Texas Lake Jackson Brazoria Texas Coastal Bend website, marine aquarium, fish hatchery and nature center operated by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center Orange Orange Texas Coastal Bend252 acres, includes themed gardens, children's garden, wetlands demonstration garden, Victorian greenhouse, exhibit hall
Sibley Nature Center Midland Midland West Texas website, located in the 49-acre Hogan Park
Sims Bayou Urban Nature CenterHoustonHarrisTexas Coastal Bend website, operated by Houston Audubon, 1.1 acres, includes a log cabin, barn, gazebo, boat dock and seasonal wetland trails, open by appointment
South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center South Padre Island CameronTexas Coastal Bend website, 50 acres of dune meadows, salt marsh and intertidal flats, part of the World Birding Center
South Padre Island Dolphin Research and Sea Life Nature CenterSouth Padre IslandCameronTexas Coastal Bend website, focus in bottlenose dolphins and their marine environment
South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center Corpus Christi Nueces Texas Coastal Bend180 acres, includes a butterfly house and bromeliad conservatory
Spring Creek Greenway Nature Center Spring Montgomery East Texas website, adjacent to the 25-acre Peckinpaugh Preserve
Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center Athens Henderson East Texas website, includes a production fish hatchery, aquaria and exhibits, Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, Richard M. Hart and Johnny Morris Conservation Center
Trinity River Audubon Center DallasDallasNorth Texas120 acres with 5 miles of trails
Twelve Hills Nature CenterDallasDallasNorth Texas website, urban preserve and outdoor classroom
Valley Nature Center Weslaco Hidalgo Texas Coastal Bend6 acres, focus on getting children outdoors, environment of the lower Rio Grande Valley
Westcave Outdoor Discovery Center Round Mountain TravisTexas Hill Country website, 75 acres, exhibits on area geology, water, weather, and energy and their connection to the Preserve's plants and animals
Wildcat Bluff Nature Center Amarillo Potter Texas Panhandle website, over 600 acres, 5 miles of trails, 5 acre accessible trail with pond, spring, and paleontology exhibit. Education building, visitor center. Focus on prairie ecosystems, outdoor education, and natural and human history of the Texas Panhandle.
Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve Austin TravisTexas Hill Country227 acres with an environmental education center, operated by St. Edward's University, open to the public for trail hiking and events

References

  1. "Nature Center". Brazos Bend State Park Volunteer Organization. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  2. "Cattail Marsh". Golden Triangle Audubon. Archived from the original on January 2, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  3. Gerald E. McCleod (February 13, 2015). "Day Trips: Cattail Marsh, Beaumont". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  4. Tammy McKinley (October 15, 2010). "Waste Water Renews Marsh". Hearst Newspapers II, LLC . Retrieved October 24, 2015.