History of the Ney Nature Center

The Ney Nature Center evolved from a bequest to Le Sueur County by the late Ruby Ney and from the vision of her nephew, the late Donald Ney, who grew up in the Chicago, IL area and moved to the Ney family farm, near Henderson, in 1950. Ruby dreamed of returning the 366 acre homestead to nature when she made her gift of land, known as the Wilhelm Ney Wildlife Preserve. Donald Ney envisioned a broader purpose for the site, that of educating young people about the environment. Thus, the Ney Environmental Education Foundation was formed to develop and manage, on behalf of Le Sueur County, a learning center on the preserve. Don’s gift of an additional 80 acres in 1997 increased the preseve to 446 acres. The site gained widespread attention in 1995 when a local teacher and her students discovered deformed frogs.

Ney Environmental Education Foundation

The board of directors conducts the business of the Ney Environmental Education Foundation, and manages the Ney Nature Center jointly with Le Sueur County through an Interagency Agreement. They are accountable to the membership, and report to them at the annual meeting and through quarterly newsletters.