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History
of the Waterman Conservation Education Center site at Hilton
Road, Apalachin
During
the late 1960's and early 1970's, several people in the Tioga County,
New York community were concerned about the loss of wildlife habitat
space.
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Lolita
Waterman, a member of the committee, offered to donate a
portion of her family farm to the project under the condition
that the property be forever managed as a nature center,
and that it be named for her late husband, Fred L Waterman.
After
several years of work by a dedicated group of volunteers
who worked to establish a variety of wildlife food and
cover plots, a building was acquired for the center. The
former Faith Lutheran Church building and parking lot became
the interpretative building for Waterman Center.
Waterman
Conservation Education Center's property on Hilton Road
has been improved to include a system of nature trails
that wind their way through the property allowing visitors
to examine and enjoy trees, grasses, wildlife tracks, nesting
boxes, and a gorge with a stream. The interpretative building
houses a museum where visitors will find numerous exhibits
and interpretative displays about local wildlife. The museum
building also houses the Center's Nature Shop, classroom
space, a reference library and offices. Surrounding the
museum are the Lolita Waterman Wildlife Gardens. These
gardens were designed to help landowners learn how to incorporate
native plantings into their own landscape plans. The gardens
also help visitors learn how to attract wildlife to their
yards.
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The
Mission of
Waterman Conservation Education Center...
Our
mission is to promote conservation education and outdoor recreation
activities. We serve our members, the citizens of the Twin Tiers
of New York State and Pennsylvania and all visitors to our wildlife
refuge system.
Some
of the goals of Waterman Center are:
- Expand environmental awareness of our visitors.
- Provide conservation education programming for all ages,
including classes, interpretive exhibits, trailside stations,
booklets and signage.
- Provide refuges which are quiet and safe for both wildlife
and humans.
- Provide quality environmental education programs tailored
to meet the needs of area classroom teachers and their students.
- Function as a regional resource center for environmental
and conservation concerns for people and businesses within
the community.
- Cooperate with other centers and universities in research
projects.
- Provide the educational component in order to share research
information with the public.
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To become a member of Waterman Center, click
here for the membership form or email: membership@watermancenter.org
All wildlife illustrations © John Weissinger,
Ithaca, NY 1997
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