A Note from our Founder

Please take care of yourselves!

Hope you'll watch our first children's video !

We ARE Nature

Wild Bear Video for your children... and you too!

Wild Bear Nature Center presents its FIRST video to share with your children and family. It is free and we hope you enjoy it!

Click here to enjoy Wild Bear's FIRST video!

The simplicity of engaging in nature and enjoying the details by using your senses can foster a deeper love and connection to the outdoors. Sit spots, nature journaling, forest bathing all are very healthy ways to gain perspective as well as a deeper understanding of our place in nature.

This film highlights that for children and families. We hope you enjoy it!

Once a Wild Bear

Always a Wild Bear!

Devon Reynolds is a graduate student in the CU Boulder Environmental Studies program, a 350 Colorado Board member, and has been formally recognized as an outstanding climate leader. She focuses on environmental justice and fossil fuel divestment, putting her research skills to work for climate activism. She’s committed to societal transformation to create justice, equity, and sustainability

Community Power and Global Systems

Devon Reynolds

Sunday, March 29th

2-4pm

Please join us for this FREE and ONLINE Climate Action Sunday Event at Wild Bear Nature Center!

This is sure to be an inspiring program about what we can do to make changes that are good for the planet.

Click the link to join us virtually when the meeting starts!

Wild Bear's message to you.

Hello friends!

We are all realizing more and more every day: WE ARE IN CRAZY times! I am writing to you from my home where I am working on so many projects for Wild Bear and gaining perspective. While this is a tragedy on so many levels, it also has some benefits.

To those who are ill or have lost loved ones, or are homeless or are alone, we send out our deepest compassion for your struggles and hope that we can all come together to help. We send our gratitude out to the first responders, the health care workers, the grocers, the food delivery folks, all of the infrastructure that helps life to go on. We are all facing this together and Wild Bear wants to give our all to our community: supporting children and families through the integration of creative exploration of nature is what we do best.

Through this difficult time we are, as humans, more present than ever and with that comes so many benefits. It is a time when we are all digging deep on what REALLY matters, what do we really need to live a simple and healthy life? We are forced to simplify, to examine what is most important to us and to accept the fact that we are not necessarily in control of it.

"Viruses are made by the Earth. And now as humanity, we are forced to make the sacrifice we couldn’t make from our own will...

The capacity that nature has to regenerate is extraordinary, extremely powerful, and in some cases surprisingly fast. But we have to listen. The Earth is telling us that the moment is now. Change is now." ~ Lynne Twist

While this is an extraordinarily difficult time, I have heard from folks that they are enjoying this "reset". With this slowing down comes less consumption of our natural resources, helping the earth to heal. We are noticing that the community is coming together to help more vulnerable members. This is very important and Wild Bear Nature Center is here for you. We will ALWAYS do what we can.

This is also a time when people are realizing the importance of nature in their lives. This is a wonderful outcome to a very difficult situation. Being in nature leads to improved health, both mental and physical. We hope with the shelter in place that you all still can go outside, enjoy the birds and the fresh air while maintaining your 6' distance.

Even though Wild Bear Nature Center is closed through April 17 as we correlate with the Boulder Valley School District schedule, we have been very busy! See below our special video that we created for you and your family! We are also offering our Climate Action Sunday program streamed THIS Sunday (see below). Wild Bear staff have been thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting the nature center and preparing for when parents do go back to work so that we are here for your children. This is very important to us. Please contact us if you have any questions or need anything at all.

Sincerely,

Jill Dreves, Executive Director and Founder

Wild Bear Nature Center

Please support Wild Bear Nature Center

We are grateful for our donors who have supported Wild Bear over the last 25 years. This is how we have become the strong, resilient and thriving organization that we are. But these are crazy times.

Wild Bear generates 50% of our income through earned revenue such as tuition, gift sales, etc. The remaining 50% is generated through our generous donors who support us through grants, sponsorships and donations.

As is true for so many, Wild Bear is not generating earned revenue as we normally would during this time. We are moving into our busiest season of the year. While it may seem simple that we should just decrease expenses, this is not possible with fixed expenses. Further, it would not be prudent to lay off our incredible staff as we work to be prepared to support families when they head back to work.

Wild Bear Nature Center has been closed since March 12 and will remain so until April 17 when we will reassess. However, our creative staff has continued working diligently behind the scenes for the community and for nature. We are working every day to reinvent ourselves during this time of virtual nature education. Our staff is critical to our ability to respond when families head back to work.

Please consider a donation today at any level. Let's come together as a community to show that the nature center and all that we contribute to the community is of utmost importance as we ready ourselves in response to future community needs. Thank you.

We appreciate all of our donors, including the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, Colorado Wildlife Heritage Foundation, AEC Trust, Community Foundation serving Boulder County, Eldora Mountain Resorts, Crosscut Pizzeria and Taphouse, Tebo properties, Alpine Botanicals and Citywide Banks.

Wild Bear Nature Center | www.wildbear.org

Inspiring a lifelong connection to nature and community through creative exploration of the outdoors.