Audubon is seeking to encourage a “culture of conservation”, a society that holds responsible stewardship of land, water, wildlife, and natural resources on a par with other essential values. To create a “culture of conservation,” we must instill in our citizens both an appreciation and an understanding of our beautiful earth and its finite resources. To do this, we must give people life-changing, indelible experiences in nature.

People who develop a lasting commitment to nature often trace their sense of dedication to a direct encounter with the natural world—one that amazed them, inspired them, or even helped them to see their surrounding environment in a new way. Their bond to nature goes beyond intellectual understanding to an instinctive desire to protect and cherish their world.

Audubon Centers are innovative facilities that provide hands-on and minds-on environmental education about birds, other wildlife and nature through direct encounters. By offering unique and engaging programming, our Centers allow people of all ages and backgrounds to develop a personal connection with nature. It is critically important that these experiences are made readily available to everyone: to urban as well as suburban residents, to the underclass as well as the affluent, to pupils in underachieving schools as well as award-winning institutions. Audubon, through its nature centers, has the opportunity to break the barriers of color, class, disability, and age, reaching into communities to support a new nation of conservation-minded citizens. Audubon is creating a network of these Centers across the nation, so that adults and children alike can share the benefits of these guided encounters in the outdoors.

Created in collaboration with the surrounding communities in urban, suburban, and rural areas, Audubon Centers bring the natural world to people who otherwise have had few opportunities to discover and appreciate it. The Centers allow people to come together in nature, learning the values of stewardship and of environmental responsibility with their family and friends.