• Talahi Lodge – The Education Center

    Talahi Lodge
    This is the education center.

  • Kemp and Cora Hutchinson Bird Sanctuary

    Kemp and Cora Hutchinson Bird Sanctuary

    Photographer Name
    Date

OUR MISSION

The Nature Institute works to foster an awareness and appreciation of the natural world through preservation, restoration, and education.

The Nature Institute (TNI) is a non-profit land conservation and environmental education organization based in Godfrey, IL. Since its founding in 1980, The Nature Institute’s board and staff have worked to foster an awareness and appreciation of the natural world through preservation, restoration, and education.

Each summer TNI hosts about 400 children, grades pre-K through 6th, for Discovery Day Camp, a premier, ACA, nature day camp. Every school year, more than 8,000 area students visit TNI for field trips, including high school and college students. TNI also owns and manages more than 450 acres of protected land, such as the Olin Nature Preserve, the Mississippi Sanctuary, the Kemp and Cora Hutchinson Bird Sanctuary, and the Heartland Prairie Project at Gordon Moore Park. These natural areas provide unique places for the public to experience the diversity of the Riverbend area with its hardwood forests, prairies, and wetlands.

HISTORY

TNI is rich in land and history. We have a strong sense of pride in our past and community which is why it’s important to us to share these resources.

ACCOLADES

Through preservation, restoration, and education we have graciously been awarded the Heartlands Conservancy’s Green Leaf Award for Youth Education 2015.

TEAM

We have an unbelievably hard-working and dedicated group of staff members and volunteers that continue to make The Nature Institute flourish.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Dec 2023

Trails Closed for Winter
Each winter The Nature Institute closes the trails allowing for…
2213 South Levis Lane
Godfrey, IL,62035

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Mar 2024

Tiny Trekkers: Creature Features
Tiny Trekkers: Creature Features
Tiny Trekkers is a once a week drop off program…
2213 South Levis Lane
Godfrey, IL,62035

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Discovery Nature Club: Creatures & Cryptids
Discovery Nature Club: Creatures & Cryptids
Discovery Nature Club is an after school drop-off program for…
2213 South Levis Lane
Godfrey, IL,62035

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