Effie Yeaw needs $200,000 to save the Carmichael nature preserve and its education programs
Operators of a nature preserve along the American River in Sacramento County have launched a fundraising campaign to save its educational programs and keep open its natural sanctuary for its “ambassador animals.”
The Effie Yeaw Nature Center, nestled in Ancil Hoffman Park in Carmichael, and its 103-acre nature study area welcomes 66,000 visitors annually to learn about the history and ecology of the American River, native plants and the wildlife of the American River Parkway. Many school-aged children have their first experience interacting with the natural world at the center.
The American River Natural History Association, which operates the nature center, launched the “200K to Save the Day” fundraising campaign in late October. The center needs to raise $200,000 by the end of this year to counteract “rising costs and falling revenues,” according to the center’s news release urging donors to help.
In a Facebook post last week, staff assured supporters and visitors that the nature center remains open during its regular hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends.
The nature center, named after teacher and advocate for conservation Effie Yeaw, has been open for visitors for 48 years. The center, which sits on county park land, has not been operated or staffed by Sacramento County since 2010.
The pandemic years had a “significant impact” on the nature center; donors and financial help from the federal government helped its operators continue its educational mission through “those difficult times,” according to the news release. But new economic challenges have affected nonprofits and impacted the center.
The center has already laid off some part-time employees and reduced employee work hours by one day per each pay period to reduce labor costs, according to an update posted on the center’s website.
Recently, changes have been made to the board and the center’s leadership. The board elected Greg Dewey as its new board president, succeeding Joey Johnson effective immediately, according to the update.
The board also appointed Betty Cooper as interim executive director at the nature center. Cooper also is a current board member and former development director for the association that runs the center. Jamie Washington, a former volunteer coordinator, has returned to that role on an interim basis.
The association’s board said the nature center lacks qualified staff to provide care for some animals, and birds, snakes and other animals “have been rehomed” to other qualified facilities. The center will be working to reinstate its animal care in the near future.
“The ARNHA Board and Ms. Cooper are working on a modified staffing/expense plan that should be finalized in early December,” the board said in its update. “This plan will be short-term and is intended to get ARNHA through the current difficult financial situation.”
The association’s board said they then plan to develop a longer-term plan “that is more sustainable.” The board is hosting a series of “Town Hall and Listening Sessions” to ask for input from volunteers, donors and others about the nature center’s future.
A town hall meeting was held Tuesday evening, and a listening session was held Wednesday morning. Upcoming listening sessions have been scheduled for noon Thursday and 4 p.m. Monday. The listening sessions will be held in the Assembly Building at the Nature Center at 2850 San Lorenzo Way in Carmichael.
In a message published in the winter 2024 issue of the Acorn, the center’s quarterly magazine, now-former board president Johnson said they received “quite a bit of funding” to prevent layoffs and the center’s closure. Once COVID-19 restrictions were loosened, the community was generous with donations.
“That is no longer the case. Donations are down and community support has diminished,” Johnson said in the article. “People have been generous in contributing to specific causes, such as the surgery for Wek-Wek. But sadly, these directed donations do not help keep the doors open.”
At the time the article was published, employees had been laid off, the center’s executive director had resigned and Johnson was planning to end her term as board president at the end of December. She wrote at the time that the association continued to “look closely at how we can restructure our operations to be efficient and successful within our reduced means.”
This story was originally published December 4, 2024 at 1:29 PM.
