About 12 years in the making, the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania opened its Babcock Nature Center and Buffalo Creek Nature Park on Saturday in Buffalo Township.
The six-acre site at 154 Monroe Road is nestled between Little Buffalo Creek and the Butler-Freeport Community Trail. The parcel is owned by Buffalo Township. Audubon entered into an agreement with the township to develop and maintain the site.
The space features the new 2,500-square-foot nature center with a 1,200-square-foot pavilion. Public education and public school programs will be offered.
Additionally, the center provides critical amenities to anyone using the trail — restrooms, ice cream and beverages, and a heap of helpful information on local wildlife, plants and nature programs.
“For us, nature is part of your life,” said Jim Bonner, executive director of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania.
Bonner sees the new site as serving as a community center.
Groups and residents can freely use the park and facilities. The grounds and meeting room will be available for rentals.
“We hope the space will be a valuable community asset,” Bonner said.
The center will become a draw for visitors and users of the Butler-Freeport trail, said Buffalo Township supervisors’ Chairman Ron Zampogna Jr.
“We’re really excited to have them in the township,” he said. “It’s an absolute positive for sure when you bring people into the township, whether it’s a restaurant, retail store, or residential development.”
With grants and fundraising, Audubon developed the site for $1.5 million. It includes the nature center with a large meeting room, kitchen and nature store with feeders, books and other items; an upgraded road on the property and an ADA accessible path leading to the Butler-Freeport trail.
Almost a third of the budget was spent on re-engineering and controlling stormwater entering the site.
The new Audubon Society site sounds like a nature center with a babbling creek and a chorus of songbirds such as the Louisiana waterthrush that will only nest along high-quality streams.
But this is not your father’s nature center fashioned in a traditional rustic style. The building is modern and sleek with a white interior and banks of large windows outfitted with barely perceptible white dotted film to deter birds from hitting the glass.
A large flat-screen television is hung in the lobby. On Thursday, the TV was streaming the live feed from the Pittsburgh Hays bald eagle nest webcam. Plans are underway to include a banner on the screen displaying current bird sightings in the area and other information.
Audubon turned a deficit — an old culvert that couldn’t contain the runoff from a nearby hill — into an asset and an example of green stormwater management.
They reconfigured the drainage from an old culvert and installed bioswales, a rain garden, and water-porous pavers for the parking lot. Additionally, they used plastic netting for the grass to grow through to form a reinforced turf area for parking next to the lot.
Audubon also owns nearby Todd Nature Reserve, Succop Nature Park in Butler and Beechwood Farms in Fox Chapel.
For more than 40 years, Audubon has used Beechwood Farms in Fox Chapel for its administrative offices. The site offer trails, and an extensive number of programs for adults, children and students; native plants, and a nature store.
“People are passionate about Beechwood,” he said. “We hope to the same relationship with the public here.”
Audubon hired two new staff members to work at the Babcock Nature Center and other locations. They are looking for volunteers for the Buffalo Township site. Interested residents can call 412-963-6100 for details.
The hours of operation for the Babcock Nature Center are Thursdays through Mondays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hours are subject to change depending on the season.
Mary Ann Thomas is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Mary at 724-226-4691, mthomas@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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June 13, 2021 at 11:01AM
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Audubon opens nature center and park in Buffalo Township - TribLIVE
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