Parks Commission will explore the idea of a nature center in Patrick Eagan Park Posted 12/7/01 by Erin Johnson Staff Writer The Eagan Advisory Parks Commission agreed to form an ad hoc committee to look into the idea of a nature center in Patrick Eagan Park. The request for the nature center came from Lauren Florine and other members of the Save Patrick Eagan Park Organization, a group that split from PEPPC (Patrick Eagan Park Preservation Committee). ìWe realize that Patrick Eagan Park is the gem of Eagan,î Florine said. ìIn order for us to preserve the park, we need to make people aware of it. The only way to do that today is to have a nature center.î At a Dec. 4 workshop, the Parks Commission heard a presentation by Karen Shragg, manager of the Wood Lake Nature Center in Richfield and a doctoral student studying nature centers as part of her dissertation. Shragg said the golf-course-versus-nature-center debate has occurred in other cities, including Fridley and her own nature center in Richfield. Nature centers usually win out, she said, because they are of more benefit to the entire community. ìIt serves a much wider audience, and golf courses are often not very lucrative for a city,î she said, adding they also are not as environmentally friendly due to pesticides and fertilizers. Nature centers benefit the community economically, spiritually, environmentally and socially, she said. They can also serve as a community information center for recycling, animal rescue and neighborhood deer control. The advantage of a nature center is not just protecting wildlife, she said, but that the community would get more use out of it than a single-use facility such as a golf course. ìWhat do people do at a golf course? They golf,î she said. ìGolf courses you can get anywhere.î Some of the benefits are visible, she said, such as the 10,000 students and 70,000 or so visitors that come throughout the year, and some are less visible, such as increases in property values and the quality of the water. ìIt just benefits everybody,î she said. ìThe possibilities are endless with what you could do with this piece (of land) if it doesnít get destroyed.î Dakota County needs a nature center, Florine said. Similar nature centers such as Dodge Nature Center in West St. Paul are very popular with the community. ìTheir classes fill up so quickly,î she said. Florine said the new center at Lebanon Hills will not fill the need because it will be more geared toward athletic activities, such as renting out canoes and kayaks, than educational opportunities. The community currently doesnít have any nature programs for children, and there is a need for a place where school groups can come and explore, she said. ìIn a city the size of ours, we should really be concerned about educating the children,î she said. ìIf we donít protect the parks, the kids will not be educated about nature.î Florine said that in the past, active recreational facilities such as the ice arena and soccer fields have been emphasized over more passive recreational facilities such as a nature preserve. ìNot all kids are athletic,î she said. Members of the Save Patrick Eagan Park Organization proposed that an existing house at the end of Deerwood Drive be converted into a nature center. The house is owned by the city and rented to a private citizen for $600 a month. ìIt looks like a nature center,î Florine said. ìIt has a gorgeous view of the lake and the park.î The group presented pictures of not only the house, but views from the house to the Parks Commission. ìThey said they had thought about building a nature center there for 20 years,î she said, but the park has never had a master plan. ìItís always been put on the back burner.î Beth Wielde of the Parks and Recreation Department said that the ad hoc committee will continue to explore the idea of a nature center and come up with a formal position on the issue. ìThe commission decided it would like to have some sort of final position, which will be presented at the meeting Dec. 17,î she said. ©Thisweek Newspapers