The Highlands Center for Natural History is a regional non-profit nature center that is dedicated to cultivating in both children and adults a sense of wonder about and knowledge of our unique Central Arizona Highlands. Our 80 acre campus is operated under a Special Use Permit with Prescott National Forest and is located on Walker Road near Lynx Lake. On-site youth programs include school field trips for second and fourth graders, Saturday morning nature clubs and summer and school break day camps. Adult programs feature a Nature Study Series, naturalist and docent training courses, semi-annual native plants sales, and the spring Birding and fall Hiking Sprees. Off-site we facilitate a schoolyard habitat program, funded through a fall tax credit appeal, that establishes native plant gardens and multi-grade science curricula at elementary schools in our Quad Cities. Supported principally by member contributions and staffed in great part by volunteers, we collaborate with other organizations (educational, environmental, and community based) and offer a beautiful natural environment where hiking and experiential education opportunities abound. Our campus and the James Learning Center model sustainable building techniques and a future Arboretum will highlight area flora!

The mission of the Highlands Center for Natural History is to help children and adults discover the wonders of nature and become wise caretakers of the land. Everyone has a fundamental need to connect with the natural world. This connection is fostered by the Highlands Center through outdoor programs based on observation and discovery of the Central Arizona Highlands.