David Catlin Consulting LLC

The cost of new nature centers, like the cost of everything else, keeps going up. It varies immensely from project to project, of course, but here is one recent example: this new center in Rolling Hills Estates, California, is projected to cost $1,864 per square foot (including the design, construction management and furnishing costs) once it is completed next year.

Ground Broken On New Nature Center In South Bay Peninsula Area A groundbreaking for the new 3,300-square-foot Nature Center at the George F. Canyon building was held recently in Rolling Hills Estates.

Yesterday's Native Plant Sale at the Springfield Conservation Nature Center. The sale has been a more-or-less annual event for over 30 years. Long-time volunteers tell me that people used to show up with lots of questions. Now they show up with pre-order receipts and shopping lists. Folks are slowly learning about the value of planting native species!

There was a time, perhaps 20 years ago, when it was an achievement for a nature center to earn LEED certification as acknowledgement of environmentally sound design. The bar was raised when facilities like the Leopold Legacy Center in Baraboo, Wisconsin, opened a net zero building and Indian Creek Nature Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, achieved Living Building Challenge Petal Certification. Now I see that the new Wild Bear Nature Center in Nederland, Colorado, has "flipped the switch" on a solar array that will help make them a net-positive energy building, producing more energy than they use. Congratulations!

Wild Bear energized for "net-positivity" - The Mountain-Ear The Wild Bear Nature Center is nearing completion of a new net-positive, solar-powered campus.

I enjoyed participating in the recent ANCA Virtual Summit (mentioned in my last post here). Most of what I talked about in the session I led is information I covered in an article for ANCA's "Directions" publication in 2024. If you missed the Summit presentation but are interested in the stuff I covered, click on the link to that article below. . . .

Association of Nature Center Administrators - Meeting the Needs of Nature Center Visitors Association of Nature Center Administrators (ANCA) is a professional association dedicated to leaders in the nature and environmental learning center profession, including directors, managers, senior administrators and board members.

This news article appeared back in September, but I just ran across it. It's a terrible tragedy and a cautionary tale all at once.

Boy, 12, dies after tree falls on him at Howell Nature Center Northville city officials on Friday identified the boy as Declan Carter and said he was a sixth grader at Our Lady of Victory Catholic School in their community.