Augusta nature center gets grant from Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund

AUGUSTA — The Augusta Nature Education Center was recently awarded a $3,000 grant from the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund, enableing the Nature Center to enhance visitors’ experience by replacing boardwalks, installing new signage and improving and updating the trail map.
The center is managed and co-owned by the Augusta Nature Club, celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The Nature Center comprises 179 acres of woods, fields of wildflowers, ponds, granite quarries (which supplied the stones for the Federal Building on Water Street), a brook and five miles of trails. Access is free and open to the public during daylight hours 365 days a year for non-motorized activities such as walking, jogging, biking, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, photography, birding and nature watching.
Because of its unique location, within a mile of Augusta and adjacent to Cony High School and residential areas, it is used by local schools as part of their physical education and science studies. The two-mile running track is used by cross country teams for meets and is available to all.
Operating since the 1960s, the nature center is a true gem often referred to as Augusta’s “diamond in the rough.” Heide Munro, president of the Augusta Nature Club, invites all residents and visitors to experience the joy of the great outdoors in the heart of Maine’s capital.
The center is bordered on the north by South Belfast Avenue (Route 105), to the South by Cony Street, Hodgkins Middle School on the west and the Vocational Technical Center and the new Cony High School on the west.
For more information, or to download a trail map, visit the website at augustanaturecenter.org or find them on Facebook at Augusta Nature Education Center.