Western North Carolina Nature Center - Asheville, North Carolina - small public zoo and nature center

The Western North Carolina Nature Center in Asheville, North Carolina is a small public zoo and nature center founded in 1973. The initial funding for the zoo, originally called the Children's Zoo and Nature Center, was raised by the Junior League. An initial $25,000 donation provided the impetus to raise the remainder of the construction money, which cost was significantly defrayed by the contribution of services from the Asheville Building and Trades Council. Many area businesses also contributed building materials, making the Children's Zoo and Nature Center a true community project.

The Nature Center is still managed by the Friends of the WNC Nature Center, which was formed in 1975 as The Nature Society. The Nature Society worked with the staff of the budding Nature Center to come up with a mission - to educate the public to the natural history and ecology of the Southern Appalachian.

The new Children's Zoo and Nature Center opened in 1977 on the site of the old Children's Zoo, though the site was completely unrecognizable. The cages and buildings were gone, replaced with natural and naturalistic habitats that were ahead of their time in animal care. Over time, the Nature Center became a sanctuary for injured wildlife, wild animals who had been pets or who had been raised as part of animal reintroduction programs.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Nature Center broke ground on yet another ambitious project - the Predator Habitat Project which reintroduced a breeding pair of red wolves into a habitat built specifically for red and gray wolves. In the mid-1990s, a second phase of the Predator Habitat was completed with habitats for cougars and bobcats.

In addition to the conservation projects, the WNC Nature Center opened other projects aimed at entertainment and education for children and other area residents. Those include a hands-on nature lab, where children are encouraged to indulge in the kinds of things that kids love to do - hold turtles, stroke corn snakes and get to know animals up close and personal.

The WNC Nature Center is committed to education for children and adults. Over 30,000 schoolchildren visit the Nature Center over the course of a school year, participating in various programs offered by the Center staff. Summertime features at the zoo include Zoo Camp for children and a Youth Naturalist program for area youth. The Center is also available for private events such as birthday parties and sleepovers, as well as offering fun, recurring events like the Wolf Howl.

The Western North Carolina Nature Center is open year round except Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Martin Luther King Day. Hours year round are 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM with last admission at 4:30 PM. Admission is inexpensive, with various discounts available. For more information about hours of operation and admission, contact the Western North Carolina Nature Center at 828-298-5600.