Community Nature Center Project Progress

The Friends of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge are working hard to secure funding for supporting the completion of the Community Nature Center at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, and we could use your help.

Current Mission: Nature Exploration Area

The Friends of Ridgefield are focusing on installing a highly sought-after aspect of the new Community Nature Center, a Nature Exploration Area.

Several focus groups conducted between the Friends and the USFWS reported a need for a space at the Refuge that is outside, where students, families, and people of all ages and abilities can literally step into nature in a safe, non-threatening way, and in a way that is not disruptive to the wildlife refuge itself.

Thanks to the Keller Foundation, and a generous grant for $100,000, we are almost the whole way to funding this aspect of the nature center! Part of the grant, $25,000, was rewarded to us when provide a match from you, our supporters! Thanks to the many!

You can still donate or become a member, and your contributions help support the rest of the funding needed to complete the planned installments, and give us that last push over the finish line for the Nature Exploration Area.

Future Brick installment

Looking ahead, we are thrilled to begin work on the Nature Exploration Area, which will be attached to the north end of the new Community Nature Center building. This area will create a seamless, nature-integrated entrance for students and visitors alike as they arrive.

The future site of our brick installation will be prominently placed near the Community Nature Center sign at the entrance to the Nature Exploration Area. Along with the bricks, a small interpretive sign will explain the purpose and significance of these special tributes.

Check out this video to get an idea of where the bricks are in relation to existing refuge elements and within the planned concept drawings of the area ->

Nature Exploration Area Proposed Concept Plans

What is a Nature Exploration Area?

What is a Nature Exploration Area, and why do we want one?

Community Focus Groups reported the need for an area where families and children can interact more with nature, and orient themselves to the outdoors in a less overwhelming way. There are a lot of places on the Refuge where we need to be quiet and not disturb the environment, but this place would offer the opportunities for small samples of nature and what it can offer everyone, of every ability, age, and background.

Projects like the Nature Exploration Area are part of the USFWS Standards of Excellence, which include:

• Know and relate to the community.
• Use stepping stones to engage people in nature.
• Build partnerships.
• Be a community asset.
• Ensure adequate long-term resources.
• Provide equitable access.
• Ensure visitors feel welcome and safe.
• Model sustainability.

 

The Children & Nature Network made a great video about Nature Exploration Areas, and what they can include, and how the impacts reach farther than the physical location of the play area.

What will the Nature Exploration Area include?

Basic concept designs include:

• An outdoor classroom to gather as large and small groups for hands-on interactive lessons in nature.
• Interpretive upland and riverine features to help visitors understand the ecosystems found on the refuge, including streams and beautiful Oregon White Oak habitats.
• Logs and boulder steps for wandering, to provide safe/low maintenance areas for children to adventure and feel the textures of nature without disrupting restored native habitats.
• Flat paths for strollers and wheelchairs.
• Honeysuckle vine-covered Tunnel that is tall enough for someone in a wheelchair to wheel over a smooth path through a tunnel of plants, without having to go over the bridge or over a mile to get into a forested area of the Refuge’s Carty Unit.
• Mammal and bird graphics for kids to discover and engage with wildlife education.
• Diverse interpretive landscapes will enhance the space, demonstrating each type’s natural purpose and offering educational opportunities
• And more!

Also in the Works: Environmental Education Classroom!

The next project on our list is completing the outfitting the Environmental Education Classroom.

The Friends, with the help of our supporters, have been able to provide stools and lab tables, as well as some mterials for activities with school groups who will be visiting while this classroom gets fully outfitted.

We still need:

• Lab Equipment (microscopes, slides, tools, etc)
• AV/Presentation Equipment (projector/screen or television)
• Art Supplies (paper, paint, watercolors, brushes, etc)
• And other classroom equipment for the comfort of classes for youth or adults of all abilities.

 

We are looking for anyone with connections or who wants to help us in obtaining these items, or creating them. Thank you!

Keller Foundation Details

“The Keller Foundation was founded in 1997 by Dick and Ruthie Keller as a living entity in which family members and their future generations could unite with pride and pleasure to strengthen their communities and country through philanthropy. The mission of the Keller Foundation since inception is to enrich the quality of life in the Pacific Northwest and in areas where the family may live by providing grants to educational, medical, cultural, and social service institutions to strengthen their programs over time.”