Our Mission
Indian Creek Nature Center’s mission is to promote a more sustainable future by:
Nurturing individuals through environmental education
Providing leadership in land protection and restoration
Encouraging responsible interactions with nature
Our Vision
At Indian Creek Nature Center, we create champions of nature.
Connecting people to nature early and often breeds understanding and passion for the natural world. Those who are passionate about nature will work to protect it. Children who are immersed in nature early in life become the next generation of environmental stewards.
Sustainability
For decades Indian Creek Nature Center has led in sustainable building and operations practices.
We were the first to install net-metered solar panels in the state. A solar panel system was installed on the Sugar House in 1993. Relocated to the barn a few years later, those panels have produced 25% of our electricity. Today, our solar field, as well as panels on our main building (Amazing Space) and Penningroth Barn produce 100% of the energy we use and then some.
This innovative history of sustainability continues at the Nature Center today and into the future.
Amazing Space
In 2016, we built our headquarters: Amazing Space. Just three years later, Amazing Space earned the prestigious Living Building Challenge Petal Certification, recognizing it as one of the most sustainable buildings in the world. Learn more about the certification and how Indian Creek Nature Center continues to lead by example in sustainability standards.
Etzel Sugar Grove Farm
The 120-acre Etzel Sugar Grove Farm is located about four miles northwest of the Tuma Soccer Complex in rural Marion. ICNC is working toward making agriculture more ecologically friendly, carrying out its mission to create a more sustainable future. The farm includes a mature woodland, a pasture, tillable fields, vegetable beds, berry bushes, and fruit and nut trees.
Indian Creek Nature Center is a place where nature thrives, curiosity grows and opportunities flourish.
Thriving Nature
Opportunities to connect people with nature begin with creating outdoor spaces that are inviting, inspiring and indispensable. Indian Creek Nature Center is committed to the important work of preserving, restoring and stewarding the land so our community has spaces where they can fall in love with nature again and again.
More than 400 acres of land are under the protection of Indian Creek Nature Center. These acres include one of the most sustainable and accessible buildings in Iowa, and seven miles of trails winding through woodlands, prairies and wetlands, where you can escape into nature.
Growing Curiosity
Indian Creek Nature Center was founded in 1973 to provide Eastern Iowa with a home for environmental education. We welcome curious minds of all ages to educational programs and nature-inspired events that celebrate the beauty and mystery of nature in all seasons.
Field trips to the Nature Center began in the 1970s, and today Indian Creek Nature Center educates Champions of Nature with a nature-based preschool, elementary-aged daytime and after school programs, and adult workshops on beekeeping, raising chickens and more.
Flourishing Opportunities
Indian Creek Nature Center’s nonprofit mission is to promote a more sustainable future by nurturing individuals through environmental education, providing leadership in land protection and restoration, and encouraging responsible interaction with nature.
By creating spaces and events in nature, people of all ages and abilities can meet nature, fall in love with nature, and become Champions of Nature. As the largest, and first, independent nonprofit nature center in Iowa, this mission is only achievable with the ongoing support of volunteers, donors and members. You can be a part of helping nature thrive by getting involved today!
Everyone can be a Champion of Nature. Even YOU!
The nature-based experiences that Indian Creek Nature Center provides for learning, growth and unstructured play in the outdoors are essential for people of all ages.
The future of our natural environment lies in the hands of people who care deeply about nature.
Indian Creek Nature Center fosters opportunities for meaningful connection to nature thanks to donors, members, and volunteers who support our mission.