About the Friends of Retzer Nature Center
The Friends of Retzer Nature Center, Inc. is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging, perpetuating, and promoting the work of conservation and natural resource education.
The organization seeks the involvement of the community in the form of financial and volunteer support to work toward the continued growth and improvement of Retzer Nature Center.
About Retzer Nature Center
Annually, more than 25,000 people visit the nearly 400-acre Retzer Nature Center, a part of the Waukesha County Parks system. The nature center focuses on environmental education, natural land management, community restoration and wildlife habitat improvement. The crowning achievement of the nature center is the restored prairies that returned the land to its original state.
Invitation to join the Friends
Wilderness is hard to come by these days. But you can discover the beauty and wonder of 400 acres of wilderness when you join the Friends of Retzer Nature Center. As a member, you can experience and observe native Wisconsin plants, birds and animals in this unique nature preserve that has restored much of the land to its original pristine state.
Broadwinged Hawk by Jim Edlhuber, click image to return.
Click to enlarge or return.
Our Nature Center
- The nature center site is originally the retirement home of John and Florence Retzer. They planted over 26,000 trees, shrubs, and flowers by hand in their lifetime on these grounds.
- It was the wish of Florence Retzer that the Waukesha County Park System develop their land as a nature center. Florence Retzer died in 1973. In 1974 work began to convert the site to a nature center.
- Today, more that 5,000 school students attend scheduled environmental programs each year.
- The Adventure Trail is a handicap accessible paved walkway with 30 interpretive stops highlighting Wisconsin plants and wildlife.
