Kreher Preserve & Nature Center
The Kreher Preserve & Nature Center, also known as the Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve or KPNC, is a 119-acre forest preserve at 2222 North College Street (Alabama State Route 147), north of Auburn.
The parcel was acquired in the 1930s by Frank and Dr Louise Kreher Turner, who became an associate professor of health education and recreation at Auburn University. They raised beef cattle on the property for a few decades before allowing it to return to forest. The Turners donated the land along with an endowment to the Auburn Foundation on behalf of Auburn's College of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences in 1993. Dr Turner continued to manage it and developed the first public programs before 2000.
In 2001 Margaret Holler, the wife of Auburn professor Nick Holler, took over as Preserve Coordinator, managing a team of volunteers. In 2007 the university hired Jennifer Lolley to serve as the preserve's first full-time administrator. The current manager is Michael Buckman, heading a staff of educators, naturalists and gardeners.
In 2015 former coordinator and volunteer Margaret Holler provided another "Nicholas R. Holler and Margaret E. Holler Endowment" to fund programs. In 2023 the F. Allen and Louise K. Turner Charitable Foundation provided another gift in support of the construction and operation of a new Environmental Education Building, and to subsidize transportation costs to the preserve for school field trips.
Programs at the Kreher Preserve & Nature Center include science outreach from Auburn University and the Woodland Wonders Nature Preschool, as well as private parties and events.
References
- "Permanent endowment for Auburn’s Kreher Preserve and Nature Center created in honor of the late Nicholas Holler." (October 28, 2015) Auburn College of Forestry, Wildlife & Environment
- "KPNC receives grant from F. Allen and Louise K. Turner Foundation." (March 30, 2023) Auburn College of Forestry, Wildlife & Environment
External links
- Kreher Preserve & Nature Center at auburn.edu