Where Leisure Meets Learning
Join the Kreher Preserve & Nature Center staff for a one-hour presentation on the AUsome amphibians and reptiles found in our state and beyond. Children and adults will enjoy this entertaining hands-on program with live animals. Admission is $5/person. Children 3 and under are free. Pre-registration is not required.
Proceeds benefit the nature center. Sponsored by Auburn Opelika Tourism Bureau
The Kreher Preserve and Nature Center was recently featured on an episode of RFD TV’s Simply Southern show. The show highlights unique places around the state of Alabama each week. The episode originally aired August 19 but will return on air on November 18. In the meantime, you can follow this link below to watch, the KPNC is featured around the 10:00 minute mark.
We are excited about welcoming back the Auburn University students with our event, ‘Hike It Auburn’ on Tuesday, August 21 from 5:00-7:00pm. This free event will let Auburn students come explore our six miles of trails and have interactive experiences with our animals including snakes, lizards, and an alligator! Trail mix and lemonade will be provided.
The Kreher Preserve and Nature Center is located at 2222 N. College Street and can be reached by a short drive down College St. or through a Tiger Transit request.
Registration is now open for our Fall Forest Friends and Nature Explorers program. To register, go to: https://secure.touchnet.net/C20021_ustores/web/classic/store_main.jsp?STOREID=175
Forest Friends is an exploratory nature program for pre-school children aged 2-5. Classes meet over the course of a six-week period from 9:30-11:00am beginning Friday, September 21 and continuing through Friday, October 28. Children will learn about themes including Beautiful Butterflies; Icky Sticky Worm; Spotty Salamanders; 123, What do I see?; ,Hairy Scaly , Squishy; and Wesley, the Amazing Alligator. Cost is $45 per student, membership at the magnolia level is required.
Nature’s Explorer Home School program is an environmental education program designed for home-schooling families which offers a unique educational experience for home-schooled students and their parents. Classes will meet the on September 10, October 8, and November 12 from 10:00-11:30am. Topics include Alabama Wildflowers, Bird Beaks, Feet and Tweets, and Incredible Invertebrates. Family membership to the Kreher Preserve at Magnolia level ($35) or above is required for registration.. This class incorporates hands-on science with nature and environmental awareness and concludes with a nature hike. Students will learn about a different topic each class of the 3 month session. The sessions will consist of approximately a 45 minute lesson and a 45 minute hike.
Dr. Jim Lacefield, author of Lost Worlds and Alabama Rocks, will present a program on the Geological Basis for Alabama’s Surprising Richness in Plant and Animal Species. Dr. Lacefield is a fascinating speaker who will entertain you all on Alabama’s rich geological history. The talk is geared for adults and children ages 8 and up, but children’s activities will be available for younger children. The Geology Hike will be held on Saturday, July 21 at 10:00 AM and is $4 for KPNC members and $5 for non-members. The Kreher Preserve is located at 2222 N. College Street in Auburn.
Come get to know the key tree species in your community. This program will teach you the basics of tree identification as well as some key characteristics of tree species you encounter everyday. We will hike through the trails of the Kreher Preserve and learn the names of these leafy neighbors. Program is $5 for non-members, $4 for members. Children 3 and under are free.
A baby alligator found in an Auburn neighborhood has made some big news the past few days. The Kreher Preserve and Nature Center was honored to play a part in this gator’s story.
Articles describing the story can be found at the following:
http://www.oanow.com/news/auburnuniversity/auburn-alligator-being-cared-for-at-kreher-preserve/article_2b8c5256-6d6d-5d8a-a8c2-149ce98970bd.html
Don’t miss out on the fun of our ‘Unhuggables’ camp. Spots are still available for the following sessions.
Camp Discovery: Rising 3rd and 4th graders, May 29-June 1
Young Naturalist I: Rising 1st and 2nd graders, June 4-8
Auburn Adventure: Rising 5th-7th graders, June 11-15
Young Naturalist II: Rising 1st and 2nd graders, June 18-22
Camp is $110, with membership at the Magnolia level required. To register: https://secure.touchnet.net/C20021_ustores/web/classic/store_main.jsp?STOREID=175
Join Kay Stone and Jennifer Lolley to learn the basics of making mosaic art on Saturday, April 21 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Attendees will help create a piece of mosaic art for the KPNC and make a take-home trivet. The class covers safety rules, tools of the trade and how different materials are treated when applying mosaics. The fee for the workshop is $20/person (supplies included). Class size is limited to 15 people and children (10 and up) under the age of 16 years old must be accompanied by adult. Register at our website.
https://secure.touchnet.net/C20021_ustores/web/classic/store_main.jsp?STOREID=175
Fire on Plains CANCELLED
Due to weather conditions, we are unfortunately canceling the Fire on the Plains event on Saturday. After discussing the event with our fire ecology expert, Dr. John Kush, he reported that “The FoP event is being cancelled, not due to rain, as is the usual suspect, but the lack of rain, high fuel loads, and safety concerns for the attendees as well as the forest. The lack of measurable rain over the past week has left the fuel load at the Preserve very dry. Based on a prescribed burn conducted Wednesday on the Preserve and observing fire behavior, a very difficult decision was made to postpone the event until late autumn/early winter. In addition, the forecasted weather frontal system is going to bring swirling winds that will brings even more uncertainty to using fire on Saturday.”
We want to thank you all for your interest and support of this event. If you are interested in using fire as a management tool, there are several areas on the preserve property that have been burned in the last few weeks that you can visit as a reference for the effects of fire based on different forest cover. We are happy to answer any questions that you have on these areas.
We hope to see you at the Kreher Preserve soon!