Bluff Lake Nature Center is a wildlife refuge and environmental education center in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, located along Sand Creek on the eastern edge of the former

Stapleton International Airport Stapleton International Airport was a major airport in the western United States, and the primary airport of Denver, Colorado, from 1929 to 1995. It was a hub for Continental Airlines, the original Frontier Airlines, People Express, United ...

. Bluff Lake hosts nearly 40,000 visitors each year, with the majority coming from east Denver neighborhoods and part of school-based and public programs.

Programs

Bluff Lake Nature Center offers science education programs in partnership with

Denver Public Schools The Denver County School District No. 1, more commonly known as the Denver Public Schools (DPS), is the public school system in the City and County of Denver, Colorado, United States. History In 1859, Owen J. Goldrick established the Union Scho ...

, Aurora Public Schools, and Adams County Public Schools. A summer fireside chat series is held with The Nature Conservancy of Colorado and week-long Junior Naturalist camps are held in June, July, and August. Bluff Lake Nature Center is free and open to the public, serving a role as unplanned open space for children and families in the nearby neighborhoods.

Habitat and wildlife

Bluff Lake Nature Center consists of a variety of native habitats including wetlands, short-grass

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

, a

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

zone and wetland woodland. Thanks to its 60 year history as an airport buffer, Bluff Lake has become an urban wildlife refuge for waterfowl, shorebirds, raptors, songbirds, deer, fox, beaver, reptiles, amphibians and other types of wildlife that visit or live at the site.

External links

Bluff Lake Nature CenterSand Creek Regional Greenway
{{authority control Nature centers in Colorado Tourist attractions in Denver Protected areas of Denver Education in Denver Bodies of water of Denver Lakes of Colorado