The Great Plains Nature Center’s (GPNC) support organization, Friends of the Great Plains Nature Center, recently received the award for “Excellence in Interpretive Support” at the annual conference of the National Association for Interpretation (NAI) in Corpus Christi, Tex. in November. NAI is the national professional organization for people who work in resource interpretation, delivering public educational programming at nature centers, museums and historical sites.
The GPNC – a free, public educational facility located in Chisholm Creek Park in northeast Wichita – was created through a three-way partnership between City of Wichita Park and Recreation, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The friends group is a 501(c)(3) organization that has supported the mission and operation of the GPNC for the last 18 years providing services that include:
- Handling grants, donations and other forms of financial assistance
- Hiring staff, including three full-time naturalists who are directly involved in interpretation
- Facilitating print publications, including 12 pocket guides, 10 posters and four books
- Coordinating volunteers, whose efforts are critical to the center’s operation
The friends group received prior recognition as Conservation Organization of the Year by the Kansas Wildlife Federation in 2009.
For more information on GPNC, visit www.gpnc.org or call the center at (316) 683-5499.
