Nurture Nature Center (NNC) is a center for learning about local environmental risks that seeks to serve as a model for community engagement on such topics. NNC uses art and science exhibits, as well as forum programs, nature journaling, and other educational events to invite local residents and decision-makers into dialogue about building community resiliency through environmentally-sound decision-making. The centerpiece of NNC’s visitor area and the material for many NNC programs is NOAA’s famed Science on a Sphere exhibit, which exists in about 100 science centers and museums around the world and features breath-taking visualizations of earth and space science. 

Founded in the wake of massive flooding, NNC has focused significant resources on extreme weather events, establishing itself as a national leader in education about flood risks and winning multiple awards for its work, including its Focus on Floods campaign (see focusonfloods.org). That campaign laid the foundation for much of NNC’s later work and generated educational materials that are now in use across the country. Currently, NNC is involved in a project funded by FEMA and the NJ DEP to engage the public in the coastal flood mapping process, and is also leading two social science research projects designed to improve communication with the public about flood risks. 

To help other organizations engage in effective local dialogue about environmental risks, NNC has developed a model for community dialogue programs, From Risk to Resiliency, with support from National Science Foundation and NOAA. Its guidebook on this topic can be found at http://nnc.uberflip.com/i/114789. In another initiative, NNC is home to the Lehigh Valley’s Buy Fresh Buy Local program, which has developed guides and programs to encourage the community, including low income residents and students, to appreciate fresh local foods, helping the environment and local farmers in the process.

Nurture Nature Center

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