Bluff Lake's 2024 Colorado Gives Day Campaign!

Looking back over the last 30 years, Bluff Lake Nature Center has experienced some truly watershed moments that have brought us to where we are today. Here are a few of those moments.

• The opening of the Bluff Lake Nature Center site after the land was protected as a result of the lawsuit brought by the Sierra Club and a group of local community members in 1994
• Our nonprofit gaining ownership of the 123-acre piece of land in 2008
• A major lake restoration project including the construction of a new slurry wall (dam) and recontouring the bottom of the lake to ensure a year-round healthy lake in 2016
• Keeping the site and programs open and running during the pandemic, growing our annual visitation to over 90,000 visitors in 2020

As we reflect on these tremendous accomplishments, we are so thankful for the community and team that made it happen. And we also know that 2025 will soon be included among these “watershed” moments. As we prepare to break ground on our Campus Improvements Project in early 2025, the Bluff Lake Nature Center team is also preparing to undergo an era of unprecedented planning and capacity building. 

In 2025 we will be...

...conducting staff, board, and volunteer DEIA training to be best prepared to show up for our diverse neighbors in this new space. 

...determining how and who will be using our new space, including our vibrant community of nonprofit partners. 

...wrestling with construction logistics to ensure we can still bring summer camp to families. 

...launching a new Forest School Program, with a focus on equity and accessibility to bring nature to more pre-K children in our community.

...bringing on new staff to support all this growth, and we’ll be making sure we are here to support them and their needs.

As the capital campaign for the Campus Improvements Project has been progressing, we have been continuing to focus on all the above areas of capacity building, and continuing to rely on the support of our community to ensure we are here for our neighbors throughout construction and beyond.