Little Rock Nature Center

Ken Smith Executive Director Audubon Arkansas	John Flicker, President National Audubon Society
John Flicker, Vice Mayor Willie Hinton, Board Chairman of LR Housing Authority Wooten Epes, Director, LR Housing Authority Director Lee Jones, Mayor Jim Dailey and Ken Smith, Executive Director Audubon Arkansas
John Flicker, Lee Jones and Ken Smith
John Flicker and Lee Jones

Audubon Arkansas is working in partnership with the City of Little Rock to develop the Little Rock Audubon Center in Southeast Little Rock. The Nature Center will serve the greater Little Rock area, with a targeted educational focus on children attending the 50 schools within 15 minutes of the site. Our goal is to provide, minimally, 4,000 children from nearby schools with nature-based education by the first year of Center operations.

The Little Rock Audubon Center will play a critical educational role in helping schoolchildren and their parents understand and enjoy their "natural home" through well-guided, out-of-doors learning experiences. Center plans call for a staff of five or more teacher/naturalists who will lead residents and students in hands-on, exploratory activities.

Acreage surrounding the Center includes both the city-owned Fourche Creek wetlands and the unique soils and plants of Granite Mountain in adjacent Gillam Park. The 2,000 acres available for use by the Nature Center offer a vast and richly diverse "lab" for young people to learn about conservation, restoration, wildlife and plants. Trails designed for a variety of learning experiences will surround the Center.

Contact: Linda Vanderveer
lvanderveer@audubon.org
212-979-3197

AUDUBON ARKANSAS TO ESTABLISH LITTLE ROCK NATURE CENTER IN HEART OF 2,000 ACRES OF URBAN PARKLAND

Audubon Center on Granite Mountain Will Offer Much-Needed Programs For Youth

Little Rock, AR, March 14, 2003 "Audubon Arkansas moved forward today with plans to create the City's first urban nature center. The organization signed a lease with the Little Rock Housing Authority for the former Booker Homes Site " 68 acres in the community of Granite Mountain adjacent to Gillam Park " where it will create an Audubon nature center. Construction for the Audubon Center is estimated to begin in 2005.

Today's historic lease signing was attended by National Audubon's President and CEO, John Flicker, Little Rock Vice Mayor Willie Hinton, the Little Rock Housing Authority's Director, Lee Jones, as well as Board Chairman Wooten Epes, and Audubon Arkansas's State Director, Ken Smith. The lease will cost Audubon Arkansas $1 per year; the size and total cost of the Center have not been determined pending community and Audubon surveys and studies.

"At Audubon we believe that the future is in the hands of our children," said John Flicker, president and CEO, National Audubon Society. "More kids than ever are living in urban communities, where it can be challenging to make a special connection with nature. That's why we're working to establish a network of Audubon Centers across the country. And it's why we're focusing on urban areas like Little Rock where we have the opportunity to open new eyes to nature, and reach a new generation of conservation leaders."

"The City of Little Rock will benefit immensely from the creation of an Audubon Center," said Little Rock Vice Mayor Willie Hinton. "We are honored to have one of the nation's oldest and most respected conservation organizations partner with our schools, and provide our students with an exciting opportunity to learn about the amazing natural world found right here in the city. Together we will create an outstanding facility that will serve as a community resource for children and adults from all corners of the city."

"We couldn't think of a better use for this property than the creation of a nature center," said Wooten Epes, board chairman of the Little Rock Housing Authority. "The site offers a breathtaking view of the City, and will improve accessibility to two wonderful but little used city parks " Gillam Park and Fourche Creek. We are delighted to partner with Audubon on this ambitious undertaking."

The establishment of the Little Rock Audubon Center will help fill the City's overwhelming need for youth-oriented programming. With a K-12 enrollment of more than 25,000 students, Little Rock has the largest public school district in the state. The Audubon Center's programs will directly support the Little Rock School District's strategic plan, which focuses on providing a network of community-based education and support resources for urban youth. The core of the strategic plan is a strong partnership between area schools and community organizations, such as Audubon.

The Little Rock Audubon Center will be the first Audubon Center in the state, and will serve as a model for other urban nature centers. More than 50 schools are located within a 15-minute drive of the Audubon Center site, and thousands of students will have the opportunity to experience hands-on, nature-based education with the Center's teachers, naturalists, and volunteers. Programs will focus on bringing visitors out into nature, using two adjacent city parks " Fourche Creek and Gillam Park " as outdoor classrooms.

"By using local parks to teach children and families about the wonders of nature, we can help people make a direct connection with the outdoors. When nature is right in your backyard, or in the case of the Granite Mountain community, right across the street, you understand it better. When you understand it, it becomes your nature, your park," said Ken Smith, state director, Audubon Arkansas.

"One of the most important goals of the Granite Mountain Neighborhood Improvement Association is to consistently pursue educational and social activities that will enhance our neighborhood," said Frank J. Boyle, president of the Association. "I am very proud and supportive of Audubon Arkansas for their efforts to provide a Nature Center in the Gillam Park area."

The Little Rock Audubon Center will use the actual nature center building as a portal to the outdoors, drawing visitors to the site and then directing them to a system of nature trails that wind through adjacent parkland. At roughly 350 acres, Gillam Park has some of Central Arkansas's best examples of old growth White Oak stands, bottomland wetlands, and upland glades. Audubon will use all of the Gillam Park property for its Audubon Center education programs.

Fourche Creek, spanning roughly 1700 acres, is part of perhaps the most important urban watershed in the state. With its variety of bottomland hardwoods, swamps, and marshes, the area serves as a vital water filtration system for Central Arkansas. Last fall Audubon Arkansas embarked on a long-term restoration project of Fourche Creek and its watershed, and formed a partnership with three Little Rock schools to help students get involved in this hands-on conservation experience.

Students at the pilot schools J.A. Fair Environmental Sciences Magnet High School, Mablevale Environmental Sciences Magnet Middle School, and Otter Creek Elementary participate in stream restoration projects and engage in activities like water quality studies, wildlife inventory, native plant restoration, and in the future, trail development. Ultimately it is hoped that many more schools in the Little Rock School District will work on the Fourche Creek restoration project through programs at the Audubon Center.

Audubon is dedicated to protecting birds and other wildlife and the habitat that supports them. Our national network of community-based nature centers and chapters, scientific and educational programs, and advocacy on behalf of areas sustaining important bird populations, engage millions of people of all ages and backgrounds in positive conservation experiences.

The Audubon Mission: To conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity.