Eighteen acres of wetland have been landscaped in the last two years with trees, prairie grass, wildflowers and a pond with picnic tables and benches to create a beautiful park for visitors who use the bike trail and for those who live nearby. A great horned owl named Alice is the nature center s mascot and frequently visits with Kinstler. The owl was permanently injured after a fall from her nest at three weeks of age and belongs to Karla. A small building is being used for the nature center until the 1,800 square foot building is built this year. A miniature museum of different types of flowers, bird feathers, rocks, animal hides and bones is open for viewing and handling in the mini-center.
Visitors can see what an owl feather feels like and what a woodpecker s tongue looks like.
The larger building will have the same type of hands-on display. It will hopefully be ready for the public by spring 2001. It will feature a community room along with bathrooms and showers for men and women. The center plans to designate certain areas in the park for camping which is why shower facilities will be built. The parking lot for the park, located one block north of the intersection of Highways 16 and 76 in Houston on West Plum Street, should be finished this week.