Discovery Center
Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center
Urban Conservation Campus
Discover ten acres of gardens, wetlands, walkways and wildlife that surround the Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center building, located near the banks of Brush Creek at Troost in Kauffman Legacy Park. The environmentally friendly building houses information and outreach services of the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
Hours:
- Monday - Friday: 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
- Extended hours first and third Tuesdays: Building open until 9:00 p.m. for programs and meetings, permit and Nature Shop sales until 7:00 p.m.
- First and third Saturday of each month: 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
- Trails open daily during daylight hours.
Located in the heart of the urban core, the Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center focuses its educational programs on helping urban children and adults appreciate the bounty and beauty of nature, and learn outdoor skills such as hiking, camping, wildlife viewing and growing native plants. Hunting and fishing permits, books, videos and educational materials highlighting the natural resources of Missouri can be purchased in the Missouri Outdoors Nature Shop.
The Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center provides a unique educational experience as well as a quiet place of reflection for residents and visitors alike to enjoy and appreciate nature's offerings
"There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace." - Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac, 1949
Aldo Leopold understood that our needs for food, water and shelter are provided by the resources of the land. Living in an urban environment, it is easy to lose sight of this connection as merchants and delivery systems supply our needs.
It is also easy to allow our built environment to obscure our natural environment as native plants and animals are removed. The Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center, through demonstration gardens and experiential student workshops, teaches urban citizens how valuable and necessary nature is to the city and to the people who live there.
