The Plains Conservation Center is an
outdoor education
Outdoor education is organized learning that takes place in the outdoors, such as during school camping trips. Outdoor education programs sometimes involve residential or quest, journey wilderness-based experiences which engage participants in a v ...
center and state-designated natural area in
Aurora, Colorado
Aurora (, ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, Arapahoe, Adams County, Colorado, Adams, and Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas List of counties in Colorado, counti ...
. The Aurora property is owned by the Aurora Parks, Recreation and Open Space department.
History
The land that is currently part of the Aurora site was once part of the
railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
. The city of
Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
bought the land in 1933, and the land later became
federal land managed by the
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...
. An education center was established in 1949, and in 1969 a group of
sod structures were built. In 1997 the West Arapahoe Conservation District sold to the City of Aurora; about were sold for private development, with revenue from the private sale used to buy the West Bijou Creek site in Strasburg. The Plains Conservation Center non-profit dissolved and the City of Aurora, already owning the land, assumed management of the site in 2017.
Activities
The Aurora site features a replica homestead village that includes two houses, a school house, blacksmith shop and chicken coop, a replica
tipi
A tipi or tepee ( ) is a conical lodge tent that is distinguished from other conical tents by the smoke flaps at the top of the structure, and historically made of animal hides or pelts or, in more recent generations, of canvas stretched on ...
camp, and 1,000 acres of shortgrass prairie. Special seasonal events and education programs are offered through the City of Aurora's naturalist program and the
Denver Botanic Gardens.
Gallery
File:Plains Conservation Center, Colorado 01.jpg, Entrance sign
File:Plains Conservation Center, Colorado 02.jpg, Yurt
A yurt (from the Turkic languages) or ger (Mongolian language, Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and Thermal insulation, insulated with Hide (skin), skins or felt and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct Nomad, nomad ...
File:Plains Conservation Center, Colorado 03.jpg, Sod House
The sod house or soddy was a common alternative to the log cabin during frontier settlement of the Great Plains of North America in the 1800s and early 1900s. Primarily used at first for animal shelters, corrals, and fences, they came into use ...
File:Plains Conservation Center, Colorado 04.jpg, Pronghorn
File:Plains Conservation Center, Colorado 05.jpg, Tipi
A tipi or tepee ( ) is a conical lodge tent that is distinguished from other conical tents by the smoke flaps at the top of the structure, and historically made of animal hides or pelts or, in more recent generations, of canvas stretched on ...
File:Plains Conservation Center, Colorado 06.jpg, Cheyenne camp looking west
File:STUDENTS_AT_THE_PLAINS_CONSERVATION_CENTER_IN_WAGON_OBSERVE_PRAIRIE_DOG_COLONIES._ED_BUTTERFIELD,_HEAD_OF_THE_PROGRAM..._-_NARA_-_544802.jpg, Students observe prairie dog colony
File:STUDENTS OBSERVE FORMER LIFESTYLES OF THE PLAINS AT THE PLAINS CONSERVATION CENTER - NARA - 544817.jpg, Students view farm equipment
References
Further reading
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External links
{{sister project links
Plains Conservation Center
Nature centers in Colorado
Open-air museums in Colorado
Museums in Arapahoe County, Colorado
Protected areas of Arapahoe County, Colorado
Education in Arapahoe County, Colorado
Parks established in the 1940s
Protected areas established in 1949
Geography of Aurora, Colorado
1949 establishments in Colorado