In the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, the Ogden Nature Center hosted Going Green as part of their Wild Wednesdays program on March 13.

The event was created to teach community members about all things green and allowed attendees to participate in a scavenger hunt around the Nature Center for a variety of hidden treasures.

“This Wild Wednesday, we are going green because of St. Patrick’s day,” Americorp intern Lauren Ralbovsky said. “We will be talking about a lot of things that are green in nature and why that is, whether it is camouflage or photosynthesis.”

Wild Wednesdays is a weekly program at the Nature Center that offers unique environmental opportunities to members for free. The program annually rotates themes based on upcoming holidays, seasonal changes or relevant events in the news.

“We believe it is not only important to learn here, but to learn about things from all different perspectives,” Ralbovsky said. “One of the things that is so fun about Wild Wednesdays is that we have a lot of families come, and we get as much excited feedback from the parents as the children.”

Participants expressed appreciation for having a weekly event in Ogden that is fun for the whole family. Hannah Kidd and her son Louis are regulars to Wild Wednesdays and enjoy seeing the different themes every week.

“I love how Louis gets to interact with people and activities and learn things from another teacher other than myself,” Kidd said. “I’m really excited for the weather to get nicer, so we can enjoy our time outside more comfortably.”

Louis’ favorite part about coming to Nature Center events is getting to see the live animals. Several weeks ago, he saw a beaver for the first time. They’ve since become his favorite animal.

The Nature Center not only participates in community involvement through Wild Wednesdays but through another outreach program called Creature Features. Outreach Educator Daniel Brown organizes this free program for all first graders in the state of Utah. On March 12, they had over 6,000 students involved.

Many of the schools the Nature Center visit cannot afford bus fare and field trips. However, one of Brown’s favorite parts of the job is being able to bring the field trip right into the classroom.

“We book all these programs and travel over the state,” Brown said. “We like to tell the children they are scientists, and they can do observations and be interactive with the items we bring.”

Another way the center gives back is through having all their buildings built to LEED certifications, which are the standard of environmentally sound spaces. The Nature Center’s buildings were the first in Utah to fit this standard and still have some of the healthiest, most efficient and cost-saving structures in the state.

“My favorite part about working here is the community and seeing that the Nature Center is such a positive influence over the community and helps people appreciate and be a part of it, all so close to home,” Brown said. “It’s a very special place that offers what many places cannot.”

To learn more about Wild Wednesdays or services that the Nature Center offers, visit https://www.ogdennaturecenter.org/.