Celebrating 50+ Years of Environmental Leadership
For over half a century, the Tenafly Nature Center has fostered a wide-reaching understanding and appreciation of nature, through leadership in open-space preservation and education programs focused on nature, science and the environment. Please consider making a donation to support TNC. Help us celebrate our past to preserve our future!
“The investment is small, the dividends are great”
Larry Smith, 1966 TNC Membership Chair
TNC Timeline
1960s: A Green Island in Tenafly
- 1961 – Tenafly Nature Center Association formed to develop a “Living Workshop” on 64 acres
- 1966 – Redfield Building Visitors’ Center completed
- 1969 – Full-time Naturalist-Director hired with grants from Borough and the Tenafly Board of Education
1970s: The Fight for Lost Brook Preserve
- 1972 – Borough of Tenafly begins efforts to purchase 274-acre “Palisades Woodland”
- 1976 – Generous State, Federal, Local and Private groups and Citizens raise $9.35 million to buy Lost Brook Preserve
1980s & 90s: Membership, Facilities & Program Growth
- 1980s – Endowment Fund begins with 16 subscribers; DeFilippi Bird Watching Shelter & Boardwalk built
- 1983 – First 5K & 10K “Raccoon Run” through Tenafly
- 1990s – Pavilion with Fireplace built for outdoor classes; First Art Show & Raffle; First Annual Fund Drive
2000s: Extending TNC’s reach
- 2005 – With Lost Brook Preserve added to lease, TNC stewards 380 acres
- 2006 – TNC Education Director works to organize regional Nature Program Co-operative
TNC Today...
- TNC Programs reach 23,000 people each year through 1,100 on-site and outreach programs
- TNC employs 4 full-time staff plus 5 part-time environmental educators
