Using 143 acres of land and wildlife as the backdrop, Blandford Nature Center provides education and community programs that:
Blandford Nature Center believes children and adults learn best through personal experience. Our job, and our passion, is to invite our community to get their hands dirty in nature – whether that be standing knee-high in water to learn about stream ecology or planting squash seeds to start a garden.
Blandford Nature Center began as Collins Woods, part of the Collins family farm. Later, Victor Blandford purchased the farm from the Collins family and sold it off as multiple lots.
In 1949, Mary Jane Dockeray began working for the Grand Rapids Public Museum as a nature lecturer. Over time, Mary Jane convinced the Blandfords to donate land to the museum for the development of a nature center, with herself as the curator. In the summer of 1965, the Museum Association agreed to help seek the funds necessary for building a nature center, which opened in 1968.
In 2003, budget cuts forced the Public Museum to transfer Blandford Nature Center to the Grand Rapids Public Schools. As the Public Schools also began to face budget cuts and the Nature Center was threatened with closure, Blandford merged in July 2007 with an organization called Mixed Greens, becoming one independent nonprofit.
Through educational programs, community events and 143 acres of nature, Blandford Nature Center hopes to further develop and strengthen innovative approaches to delivering outdoor educational programming in our distinct urban setting in Grand Rapids.
The mission of Blandford Nature Center is to change lives through fun and engaging learning experiences in the natural world.