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Welcome to the Placer Nature Center

Please contact us to schedule a visit, as we are open by appointment only.

Your family or school can reserve the Placer Nature Center for a Docent-led program in a fun, stimulating and safe environment.
We are adhering to COVID-19 CA state guidelines. We will schedule groups separately to ensure sanitation and safety.

To learn more about our programs, click HERE!

Help PNC Rebuild the First Peoples Village – donate to our GoFundMe Fundraiser!

Thanks to our great team of volunteers, including Chuck Kritzon and Roger Groghan, for helping us rebuild the cedar bark houses in our First Peoples Village!

Our Silent Auction has a few items left – visit our Auction Page

WEEKEND FAMILY HIKES FOR 2022!

Led by our docent Linda Conklin. Contact us to schedule your visit!

ALL FOUR SEASONS AND AUTUMN         

When the seasons change, so do the life cycles of the plants and animals.  We’ll learn about how trees and animals begin and end. 

WINTER: Furry Friends   

Get introduced to the mammals of the foothills. We’ll learn where they live, what they eat, which ones are predators, which are prey and how you can tell which they are. We’ll look for tracks, scat and other clues of these animals.

SPRING AND SUMMER: Wildflower or Birds   

We’ll be looking at wildflowers along the nature trail with hand lenses or looking for birds or bird nests with kid’s binoculars.

Contact us for more info!

Call (530) 878-6053 or email programs@placernaturecenter.org for more information and to schedule your visit!

We are following Placer County and California state guidelines and protocol for COVID-19. Click here to read our plan.

Click here to visit our Facebook page for more activities, experiments and videos for you to use at home!

Thank you Sierra Arbor Works for taking care of our trees!

Inimim – ponderosa pine in Nisenan. Our ponderosas were finally laid to rest last week thanks to Sierra Arbor Works (they used it as a training opportunity for this epic woman)! The trees were infested with bark beetle and have been a hazard, keeping us from taking students into the Maidu village. Now, we can rebuild the Hus (the bark homes of the Nisenan and Maidu) and tend to the native plant garden!

Ponderosa in Spanish means big and heavy. Inimim is this tree’s name in the native language of the local Nisenan people. The Maidu name for “pine tree” translates as “wind-lessening tree,” indicating that the pine was used to shelter oak trees, thus protecting the acorn harvest. Thank you Inimim for offering us such generous protection, may you decompose and be nourishment for future life!

Check out this great video from Colfax High School!

PNC is an outdoor classroom located on 60 acres in the beautiful Sierra Foothills. A place where children can find their place in the natural world as they develop science literacy.   A place where people of all ages can explore their link with the out-of-doors and use the environment and our exhibits for educational growth.
A resource center for educators to learn methods and find material for teaching about natural systems.
A place for discovering our natural and cultural history and exploring how nature is linked with the arts, literature, history, and science.
A 501.c3 not-for-profit corporation inspiring stewardship of the earth through environmental education.

                      3700 Christian Valley Rd.                                     Auburn, CA  95602

Placer Nature Center Google Earth view

Providing Environmental Education since 1991