Wild Bear Nature Center, the Nederland-based nonprofit that has operated a nature center and family nature programs for over 25 years, is moving closer to its ambitious goal of building a state-of-the-art, 8,000-square-foot nature center on five acres at Mud Lake, just outside Nederland.
The vision, spearheaded by Wild Bear founder and executive director Jill Dreves, aims to deepen and extend the nonprofit’s mission of facilitating stronger, more meaningful connections between families and the remarkable alpine riches of the Front Range and Indian Peaks. Wild Bear provides a wide range of programming, but specializes in nature camps for children and teens, from summer camps to after-school programs.
Wild Bear has developed some architectural renderings for the new center, which will likely break ground later this year with a targeted completion by 2023, and feature an amphitheater, a hiking trail and a fire pit.
Jill and the Wild Bear board of directors has worked diligently over the last several years to develop support for the center, which recently received a donation of over $1 million of Pfizer stock from a family whose children once attended the Wild Bear nature camps.
To help facilitate its mission, Wild Bear also recently received a multiyear investment from Social Venture Partners Boulder County, an organization that supports local nonprofits with mentorship, consulting and cash grants.
Header image: Rendering of the new nature center. Credit: Wild Bear
