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The Chattahoochee Nature
Center is located on the Chattahoochee River
in Roswell and sits on a beautiful site
comprised of 127 acres of native plants and gardens that showcase the beauty of
Georgia. It has a River Boardwalk, Discovery Center,
wetland demonstration gardens and woodland trails that are home to over 50 species of injured, non-releasable wildlife. For 30 years, this facility has continued to grow and
reach out to citizens as a place to explore new ideas and expand the awareness
of the natural world.
A Current Perspective of the Chattahoochee Nature Center:
A Unique Place on the Chattahoochee River
The 30
year history of the Chattahoochee
Nature Center
is both impressive and complex.
Founded by local citizen activists in the mid-1970s,
hundreds of people have worked to build a strong grassroots environmental
learning center touching the lives of more than 100,000 children and adults
each year.
In Georgia,
where government policy and agendas historically dominate local environmental
issues, the ability for an organization to endure and grow in the private
sector is limited. Strong voices have
emerged from the local chapters of national environmental organizations as well
as from the regional and statewide groups that serve on the leading edge of
watchful citizen stewardship. But in
metro Atlanta,
no other place has emerged that
offers people the opportunity to connect to such a broad circle of activities
and experiences in the natural world: the land, the water, the wildlife, the
plants, the teachers, the knowledge and the passion so freely shared with all
comers. The Chattahoochee Nature
Center is a unique place
where people connect to each other and the land through a shared respect for
nature. This is a safe place where interaction with nature excites the senses
and encourages learning.
The Origin of Nature Centers
The nature
center "movement" began more than 60 years ago as people became increasingly
aware of the connections between their activities and the health and diversity
of the natural world. There was a
groundswell of citizen activism throughout the U.S.; hundreds of nature centers
were opened as communities undertook the task of educating themselves about
ecology - the emerging scientific field that would lay the groundwork for our
global understanding of the web of life.
Nature centers flourish today in a variety of geographies from coast to
coast, managing and interpreting their land, native plants and animals to
promote an understanding of nature and natural processes.
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For kids' party place
