Polk's Nature Discovery Center sits on one of Polk County's treasured Environmental Areas, Circle B Bar Reserve. The facilities at Circle B Bar Reserve were opened November 2008 and act as an information station for its visitors free of charge.

The center not only offers outdoor educational opportunities, but chances to learn about our surrounding local environment in an indoor setting. We encourage you to stop in for an educational experience before you hit the trails, which will have you coming back for more.

Education

Polk's Nature Discovery Center and Polk County's Environmental Land Sites are the perfect place for families, school groups, teachers, adults and other visitors to explore the outdoors and learn about our environment. Exploring connections in nature is the focus of programs and resources available. A variety of programs are designed for all ages to enhance your visit. If you are planning to bring a group of 10 participants or more, we request you schedule your visit with our office. Staff, volunteers and facilities are limited, but we will do our best to help you plan your visit. It is strongly recommended that reservations / requests are made well in advance. Regardless of what you plan to do on you next visit, we hope you have a memorable time discovering Polk's water, wildlife and wilderness.

Indoor Classroom Polk County Board of County Commissioners and the Polk County School Board have a partnership. Together they provide a unique educational program for the seventh grade students in Polk County.

Instructor Workshop Connect classroom concepts to outdoor experiences with your visits to Circle B Bar Reserve. To enhance the educational opportunity and to increase the ability to reach more people, instructor workshops will be held throughout the year. The workshops are typically one-day trainings on what resources are available at the Center. The training will help you get most out of your visit whether hiking the trails, exploring the exhibit hall, using the facilities or if you are interested in using one of the traveling trunks or existing educational publications. Appropriate for all instructors looking to visit Circle B Bar Reserve and Polk's Nature Discovery Center.

Outdoor Classroom This outdoor area offers a variety of purposes such as live animal presentations. The small scale stadium seating gives each visitor a bird's eye view of the presenter.