Jasper County Conservation Unveils Its New Center

More than 30 years of planning and fundraising came to fruition this past week as Jasper County Conservation unveiled its long-awaited nature center. Dubbed the Dana King Ceretti Environmental Education Center, it is not only the new home of conservation staff but also an a space that inspires learning.

At the ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, May 29, kids were already building towers with wood and bones, tugging the tails of animal pelts, examining the finer details of a dragonfly wing, playing with animal puppets and inspecting the scaly critters behind the glass. Wide grins stretched across their cheeks.

Carol Kramer, a longtime member of the Jasper County Conservation Board, was smiling just as wide watching them embrace their new nature center. She was reminded of when Dennis Black, the former director of conservation, yearned to have a nature center established in Jasper County.

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