Nature in Reserve

Way out in north central Eau Claire County, where there are more trees than cellphones, the forest calls.

What it says is come. What it says is walk. What it says is answer.

“For nearly 70 years Beaver Creek Reserve has been fortunate to have support of the community,” said Brianne Markin, Marketing and Development Coordinator at Beaver Creek Reserve. “As County Board Member Bruce Willet has said, ‘Beaver Creek Reserve is the secret gem of Eau Claire County.’ Our goal is to make sure that it doesn’t stay a secret.”

Beaver Creek Reserve – or BCR for short – is a 400 acre property along Highway K that encompasses oak and pine forest, marsh, a small savannah, the Eau Claire River bottomlands, and of course, pretty little Beaver Creek. It’s as wild as it gets in Eau Claire County, and popular year-round with people seeking nature.

“While Beaver Creek Reserve is an excellent place for people of all ages to connect with nature, a good portion of our audience is children,” said Markin. “Perhaps it has to do with the very roots of Beaver Creek Reserve which initially started in 1947 as the Eau Claire Youth Camp, by a group of local citizens who saw a need in the community for more outdoor education for the children of the Chippewa Valley. Now, nearly 70 years later Beaver Creek Reserve is visited by approximately 5500 school children per year as part of a field trip, including nearly every second grader in the Eau Claire School District.

“2016 will see a total of 82 field trips, up from 58 in 2015. Camps are another way that children come to Beaver Creek Reserve, whether through attendance at one of our popular summer camps, or through other groups who rent our facilities. Boys Scouts, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, church youth groups, and other religious and cultural groups rent our facilities throughout the year.”

There are about 9 miles of trails on property. All of them lead to one of the Reserve’s buildings. The Wise Nature Center – freshly renovated – houses the Scheels Discovery Room, a hit with kids. The Seasonal Butterfly House is open summers. Various cabins in the Youth Cabin host a wide range of social and educational purposes. And the Citizen Science Center and Wildland’s Charter School is Ground Zero for environmental education.

“While there are other places to learn about the environment, and other places to experience nature,” said Markin, “Beaver Creek Reserve is the only place in the greater Chippewa Valley where you can do both. Children that come to Beaver Creek as part of a field trip have the unique advantage to use nature as their classroom. And since learning never ends, Beaver Creek Reserve also offers adult education classes on tree and shrub identification, wildflower hikes, wild edible hikes, not to mention all the fieldwork opportunities offered through our Citizen Science Center (CSC).

“The Citizen Science Center at Beaver Creek Reserve, the only of its kind in Wisconsin, trains every day citizens to perform scientific studies. Studies vary from year to year but can involve invasive species work, bird banding, bat monitoring and much more. The studies performed often contribute to larger state and even national studies.”

And as with anything wild or natural, it’s tough to settle on what Beaver Creek is worth to this area.

“It is hard to put a true value on Beaver Creek Reserve,” Markin reflected. “While we have conducted surveys, land management and forest management plans, all which can attribute a financial number to various aspects of BCR, there are truly more facets of Beaver Creek that cannot be given a value. While we have all heard many, many stories throughout BCR’s long history from visitors and members, it was the recent renovation that brought out so many more stories. We talked to someone who brought their first class out to Beaver Creek Reserve, then their own children, and now their grandchildren. Just this last weekend we hosted a wedding. The bride attended all of our camps and a young girl. She and some of her bridal party ran the RCU Charity Classic to support Beaver Creek, and of course they held their most important day here.

“These are the experiences that make Beaver Creek Reserve so valuable.”

In 1985 a group of individuals dedicated to the future of BCR created the Friends of Beaver Creek Reserve — the non-profit organization which raised funds and implemented the programs at the BCR. In 2008 the Friends of BCR assumed daily operations of BCR, working with the county to connect people of all ages to the natural environment close by. In a world increasingly overrun by concrete and electronics, people still need the buzz that nature provides.

“Through October 25 of this year we have had a total of 8,912 visitors to the nature center,” added Markin. “Eau Claire County is committed to working with the Friends of BCR to bring a high level of environmental education to the region and the state. We feel the partnership between the Friends and the county is win-win for the environment, tax payers and the larger community. We want everyone in the Chippewa Valley to have the opportunity to explore the trails, the Scheels Discovery Room, the seasonal butterfly house, Hobbs Observatory and all the programs and special events that are unique to the Reserve.”

Steve Betchkal
Senior Videojournalist
CVCTV News

[related_posts_by_tax format=”links” image_size=”medium” posts_per_page=”3″]