The Ney Nature Center is dedicated to the preservation of the natural state of its surroundings, restoring and preserving the buildings of historical significance, and engaging the greater community in connecting with the natural world on the 446 acres of park land, bequeathed by Ruby Ney and Don Ney to LeSueur County of Minnesota.
Through innovative high quality interactive programming, the Ney Nature Center brings generations together connecting them with the natural world and inspiring their commitment to preservation and building their desire for natural world engagement.
The vision of the Ney Nature Center is to:
Inspire appreciation and respect for nature.
The Ney Nature Center Board of Directors, volunteers and staff are guided by the mission:
The Ney Nature Center manages and protects the Ney Wildlife Preserve through education and interaction with the natural world.
Strategic Direction: To realize the vision of appreciation and respect for nature by significantly increasing the capacity and value of the Ney Nature Center, inspiring an ever growing number of people to connect with Minnesota history and natural world.
The Ney Nature Center in support of the vision and mission align their actions and programming to these principles:
- Provide leadership in place based cultural and natural history learning;
- Foster greenway connection with surrounding public lands;
- Collaborate with others to build capacity in programs and services;
- Insure strong stewardship in caring for Ney Nature Center Resources
Ney Nature Center Board of Directors
The Board of Directors conducts the business of the Ney Nature Center, and manages the Ney Nature Center Park 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.
Eleanor Hanna-Dyb, Henderson – President
James Evans, Belle Plaine – Vice President
Brittany Lindroth, Belle Plaine – Secretary
Amy Hardel, Henderson – Treasurer
Earl Moore, Jordan
Brian Sorenson, Belle Plaine
Christine Truck, Lonsdale
Jen Widmer, Mankato
Le Sueur County Parks Department
Tyler Luethje, Parks Director
Le Sueur County Commissioner
John King, Le Sueur
The Ney Nature Center uses car counters and people counters to gather data about park and trail use. This data helps us to better understand and manage the Ney Nature Center Park and can also be used when applying for grants and other funding. To learn more about the vehicle and trail counters we use click here
