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Placer Nature Center 
Through environmental awareness and education,
Placer Nature Center links people to nature.

Photo by Casey Spencer

Organized by community volunteers in 1991 on a beautiful woodland site near Auburn, Placer Nature Center presents environmental-based education programs for all ages. Our Exhibit Halls, Discovery Laboratory, history gardens and nature trails annually attract 8,000 school children and community members for school field trips, summer nature camps and classes, geology and flower walks, art and astronomy classes, live theatre and much more.

Placer Nature Center offers environmental education programs designed to promote an understanding and awareness of the natural environment, cultivate scientific literacy and stimulate stewardship attitudes toward the earth. Environmental education focuses on environmental "literacy": learning about and caring for the total environment, understanding how humans interact with and are dependent on natural ecosystems and developing critical-thinking skills to resolve environmental issues.

The education we provide at Placer Nature Center focuses on using the environment to engage students in science learning through: awareness and sensitivity to the total environment and its problems; experience in and understanding of the environment; establishing a sense of connection to the immediate environment and the student so that they understand that the nature of our lives and our environment are inseparable.

Leslie Warren, PNC Exec. Dir. at dedication of Giving Tree

Why Environmental Education?
Environmental education is necessary to build attitudes of stewardship toward the maintenance of the quality of our common environment and to enable all citizens to use wisely and not destructively, the resources at their disposal.

Children apply environment-based education to real life problems - gaining analytic skills that are indispensable in any academic study. Children are challenged to work in teams, analyze and interpret data, to make decisions, become critical thinkers and skilled communicators. Environmental education plays a critical role in creating individuals with experiences that build personal assets within a rigorous educational science-based curriculum.

At Placer Nature Center, the focus is on environmental literacy: learning about and caring for the total environment, understanding how humans interact with and are dependent on natural ecosystems and developing critical thinking skills to resolve environmental issues. Explore our exhibit halls to discover your place in the watershed or your place in a changing world. Hike the nature trails and enjoy the wonders of the foothill environment. Wander through the garden and discover Placer County's history. Picnic at the pond and watch wildlife in abundance.

Native fruits, vegetables and flowers grow in Placer Nature Center's garden.

Vision & Mission Statement, Goals & Strategies click here


Natural and Cultural History Lecture Series

Newsletter

Volunteer Opportunities for Adults and Teens

Adults and Children Help to Prevent Global Warming

Auburn Community TV
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Placer Nature Center 2003-2008Last updated October 2007.
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