Warner Parks Nature Center

A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE AND NATURE COME TOGETHER
WPNC Nuthatch Notes
NATURE CENTER EVENTS

Nature Exploration & Environmental Education

WPNC is a Metro Parks of Nashville-Davidson County-operated environmental education center. Family-friendly and admission-free, it offers free programs, school field trips and high school labs, outdoor recreation programs and activities, resources for organic gardening and native plant landscaping, and public events throughout the year for individuals, groups, and people of all ages.

2022 WPNC Calendar

Did You Know?

Some Butterflies Can Hibernate for the Winter

Butterfly species such as the Question Mark, Comma, and Mourning Cloak actually hibernate. Their bodies produce a type of antifreeze called Glycerol, and they enter a state of suspended animation called ‘diapause’ to survive the winter.

Did You Know?

There is endless exploration at the Nature Center!

On any given day, you’ll find home school cohorts convening on the patio, bird watchers aplenty, elated mud-clad children, and friends of all ages relaxing in the joys and wonders of nature, oft receiving an impromptu lesson from Nature Center Naturalists who generously share their wisdom—whether or not it blows them off course of their task at hand!

Frog Fact

Chorus Frogs and Spring Peepers Sing in the Coldest Months of the Year

In January and February, when the weather is right (42 degrees or warmer), volunteers venture out into the night to listen for the love songs of frogs. Males gather at ponds, wetlands, and ephemeral puddles to increase their chances of finding a female. They then begin to sing, with hopes that a female will find their song most attractive and choose them to mate.

Experience the Great Outdoors Through Education, Research, and Recreation

 In partnership with Warner Park Nature Center, Metro Parks, and others, Friends of Warner Parks provides funding for environmental education programs including field trips for students of all ages as well as Annual Programs that have a profound impact on the lives of thousands in Middle Tennessee each year, each with something unique to offer.

2022 Summer WPNC Program Schedule
Field Trips & Camps
WPNC Annual Programs

Welcome to Nature Play

Remember when you had hours of fun simply playing in a sand pit or dirt pile? When your toys were sticks, rocks, and cups? When you made mud pies, truck lanes, and holes in the sand? You got dirty, but you had the time of your life! The Nature Center wants kids to experience this good, old fashion fun in our Nature Play area.

Designed by Tara Armistead and funded by memorial contributions for her father, Dr. William Crenshaw, the Nature Play area located behind WPNC includes a cedar wood playhouse, a stone wall in one corner, 2 dirt piles, and a huge sand pit that is always full of shovels and toys for hours of imaginative play.

More on the Nature Center Campus

  • Natural History Museum

  • Organic Garden

  • Greenhouse

  • Bluebird Boxes

  • Teaching Pond

  • Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardens

  • The Milbrey Warner Waller Library

  • Native Fern Garden

  • Wildflower Garden

  • Bird Feeding Stations

  • Storywalk

Upcoming Nature Center Events

View the Full Calendar

WPNC Is A Starting Point to Explore Over 3,100 Acres of Nashville’s Burch Reserve and Warner Parks

As the main trailhead for Edwin Warner Park, visitors can access to the Amphitheater Trail, Harpeth Woods Trail, Hungry Hawk Trail , Little Acorn Trail, Natchez Trace Trail, and the Nature Loop through WPNC headquarters.

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Trails in Edwin Warner Park
Trails in Percy Warner Park

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