Irvine Nature Center

Irvine Nature Center
Type	nature center
Location	11201 Garrison Forest Road Owings Mills, Maryland
Coordinates
Area	116 acres (0.47 km2)
Created	1975
Founder	Olivia Irvine Dodge
Hiking trails	6 miles (9.7 km)
Website	explorenature.org

Irvine Nature Center is a nature center in Owings Mills, Maryland. The center, which is set on 116 acres (0.47 km²) of land in the Caves Valley Historic District, includes a 17,200-square-foot (1,600 m²) green exhibit hall, classrooms, outdoor classroom, amphitheater and trails. Irvine has 65,000 visitors a year.

The center is renowned for holding green weddings. There are also family nature programs, summer camps and the Nature Preschool. Irvine is one of the first in the country to hold a Nature Preschool Conference for educators looking to add nature to their education to the 3-5 year old set.

History

Irvine Nature Center was founded by Olivia Irvine Dodge in 1975 in an old barn on the grounds of St. Timothy's School in Stevenson, Maryland. Its purpose was to teach children about the vulnerability of the planet.

Today, Irvine is the only private, non-profit nature center in the region. Its mission is educate and inspire current and future generations to explore, respect and protect nature.

The center relocated to Owings Mills in 2008. The reason for the move was that St. Timothy's school, which owned the land of the Stevenson location, sold it. The state of Maryland, which had owned the current location, donated it to the center for its use. The land was formerly part of the Rosewood Center. The current site has a diverse array of Piedmont habitats, including open wetlands, upland forest, meadow, forested wetlands and farmland, and includes also the headwaters of the Jones Falls and Gwynns Falls watersheds.

Gallery

• INCsnake.jpg

  Snake

• INCbirds.jpg

  Birds