ODC Network

Connecting people with nature through outdoor education for the benefit of wildlife and the conservation of the natural world.

Since 2000, ODC Network has served more than 1.25 million people including children and adults through outdoor education and recreation programs. More than 75,000 people annually visit ODC Network sites to walk the trails and view the wildlife. Thanks to the 2009 merger of the Outdoor Discovery Center and Macatawa Greenway Partnership the organization now protects over 1,200 acres along the Macatawa River in Ottawa County and a 160-acre nature preserve in Fillmore Township. We also operate the DeGraaf Nature Center for the City of Holland including day-to-day management and the coordination of all its education programs.

The Macatawa River Greenway and Kalamazoo River Greenway projects are efforts to protect the banks, floodplain forest, marsh, meadows, and wetlands along the Macatawa River and lower Kalamazoo River. By protecting these continuous corridors for wildlife and plant habitat, the Greenways also significantly improves the quality of the waters flowing into Lake Michigan.
The Outdoor Discovery Center and DeGraaf Nature Center are free and open to the public. Both sites over a number of different programs that help foster the concepts of wildlife management, conservation, outdoor education, and preservation. Programs include: snowshoeing, live birds of prey, Michigan hunter’s safety, fishing, sensory nature walks, bird watching, ecosystem studies, archery, pond studies, summer camps, wildlife studies and exploring Michigan’s cultural past. Our inquiry-based style of programming allows students to learn about and experience nature and culture in a hands-on manner.

Website

Get in Touch

4214 56th Street
Holland, MI 49423

Representative

Joe Sikma
Nature-rich Community Manager
joe@outdoordiscovery.org
(269) 455-0378