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User:Donlammers/Sandbox/Wild Bear Mountain Ecology Center

Coordinates: 39°57′36″N 105°30′35″W / 39.9599411°N 105.5096537°W / 39.9599411; -105.5096537
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Wild Bear Mountain Ecology Center
Formation1995 [1]
TypeNGO
PurposeEnvironmental Education
Coordinates39°57′36″N 105°30′35″W / 39.9599411°N 105.5096537°W / 39.9599411; -105.5096537
Founder
Jill Dreves
Websitewww.wildbear.org

The Wild Bear Mountain Ecology Center (or just Wild Bear) is an environmental education organization founded in 1995 and located in Nederland, Colorado.

History[edit]

Wild Bear was founded in 1995 by Nederland school teacher Jill Dreves who wanted to help bring her students outdoors to learn about nature and the environment.[2] Wild Bear began with only 24 students, but by 2010 was serving 4000 people of all ages per year in after school, weekend, and summer programs.[1]

In 2010, after 15 years of operating in the Nederland Elementary School, the organization opened its new 2,200 square feet (200 m2) ecology center in downtown Nederland. Because of the higher visibility, Dreves says that the center now gets visitors from all over the world.[3]

Exhibits[edit]

Wild Bear has several native ecological exhibits. Including Western Tiger Salamanders, Western Painted Turtles, and a full Arthropod zoo.

Events[edit]

In the annual Enchanted Forest hike, held at Mud Lake, families are led through Linnea's Loop trail. During the hike they meet animals of the forest (volunteers in costume). In 2010, the animals included a raccoon, mountain lion, black bear, coyote, and owl.[4]

Wild Bear is also the major sponsor of the Wild Earth Saturday, held at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder annually.[5][6]

Education[edit]

Conservation[edit]

The future[edit]

The center hopes to build a permanant home at Mud Lake, where Wild Bear owns 5 acres (2.0 ha) of land. Although there is no set timeline for the project, plans call for a 8,250-square-foot (766 m2) solar-powered nature center on the Mud Lake property.[3]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b "About Us". wildbear.org. Wild Bear Mountain Ecology Center. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  2. ^ Lawlor, Barbara (5 August 2010). "Wild Bear Turns 15". The Mountain-Ear. p. 10. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |pmd= and |trans_title= (help)
  3. ^ a b Kelly, Lane (15 October 2010). "At 15, Nederland's Wild Bear mountain center gets new home" (HTML). The Daily Camera. Retrieved 15 October 2010. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |pmd= and |trans_title= (help)
  4. ^ "10th annual Enchanted Forest hike scheduled for Saturday" (HTML). The Daily Camera. 30 September 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |pmd= and |trans_title= (help)
  5. ^ "Celebrating our 'Wild Earth' at festival" (HTML). The Daily Camera. 18 April 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2010. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |pmd= and |trans_title= (help)
  6. ^ "April 18: Wild Earth Saturday" (HTML). The Daily Camera. 17 April 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2010. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |pmd= and |trans_title= (help)

External links[edit]

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