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The Athens-Clarke County Unified Government presents your SPLOST dollars at work.
SPLOST, or Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax,
is a 1 percent sales tax
voted on by citizens to fund a wide variety of community capital projects.
This is SPLOST 2005 project number 27 -
the Education and Visitor Center at Sandy Creek Nature Center. Funding was also
supplemented by Sandy Creek Nature Center Incorporated,
a nonprofit support group that raised over $200,000 dollars in
in grants
and private funding for this project. If you're looking for a fun and
educational interactive experience, visit Sandy Creek Nature Center.
We've expanded and improved with more to see
touch and explore. Construction on the new
Education & Visitors Center was completed in October
2012. The building's construction and maintenance
are guided by conservation principles, incorporating
energy-saving technology and responsible construction practices.
The visitor center serves as the gateway to Sandy Creek Nature Center and the
expansion includes overall improved facilities and
an exciting new exhibit hall. Look around
and you'll see that we've brought the outside inside with a variety of
interactive learning centers
designed to educate visitors of all ages about the different environments that
make up our natural world.
It is here that you can get up close and personal with
creatures of all kinds and learn about the important role these animals play in
the ecosystems they inhabit. In addition to the wildlife habitats
there are exhibits that inform and educate on a variety of environmental issues
like energy usage, recycling, and water conservation.
Other highlights of the new exhibit hall include a resource center
and the new Sky Center Planetarium. Sandy Creek Nature Center is also a great place for
for events
and birthday parties. For a fee, you can have your party here at the Visitor
Center.
Our parties are popular, so be sure to schedule yours in advance. Your kids will
love the wide variety of programs offered by the Nature Center.
Children can learn about the natural world around them
and even get to touch and meet live animals up close.
It's an experience they won't forget. The Education and Visitors Center,
including the new exhibit hall, is open Tuesdays through Saturdays.
Admission is free, although some scheduled programs may require a fee.
We've shown you a little bit of the newly expanded and improved
Education and Visitors Center at Sandy Creek Nature Center. We invite you to come see,
touch, and experience it for yourself.
Sandy Creek Nature Center offers nearly unlimited opportunities to explore the
great outdoors.
With over 225 acres of
Piedmont forest, creeks, and wetlands,
visitors can enjoy hiking or jogging on four and a half miles of nature trails
that wind
throughout the park. There are paved trails for biking
and connections to Cook's Trail and the North Oconee River Greenway.
Sandy Creek Nature Center features an ADA interpretive trail.
This is a quarter-mile outdoor trail that's accessible to visitors of all
abilities.
The Baber-Bridges Log House, constructed in the early 1800s,
offers a glimpse into our past. Take a stroll along the Brickyard Loop
and explore the ruins of the Georgia brick factory. There are wildlife observation
areas
and opportunities to learn about Georgia's Natural History,
including a restored Piedmont prairie. With so much to see and do
it's no surprise that Sandy Creek Nature Center attracts more than 50,000
visitors every year.
There are educational programs for all ages
from toddlers to seniors and thousands of school children are educated here
every year on nature and the environment.
Sandy Creek Day Camp is another popular program
providing hundreds of children each summer with fun
education and unforgettable outdoor experiences.
There's always something new to see or do at Sandy Creek Nature Center
with special events and activities happening throughout the year.
We invite you to visit Sandy Creek Nature Center and enjoy
everything that this valuable community resource has to offer.
For directions, hours, and more information on programs
and schedules, visit athensclarkecounty.com
and we'll see you at Sandy Creek Nature Center.