Become a volunteer! If you are looking for an opportunity to volunteer at the Nature Center, please check out our Volunteer Page and see if you match any of our needs.

Upcoming Events:

• June 2, 2012: Down on the Farm: 10:30AM-12:30PM - Did you ever wonder where food came from before there were grocery stores? Join us as we milk a sawhorse pretend cow and make butter from whipping cream. Plant a veggie seed and watch it grow. It is “yum” time down on the farm at Garber Nature Center.

• June 23, 2012: Tri-County North Community Association Garden Tour: 2:00-6:00PM - Our Nature Center gardens are designated as a Point of Interest for the Garden Tour. Our recently refurbished gardens have some old lilacs that were planted by Adaline Garber around the 1900's.

• June 30, 2012: Music and Marshmallows: 7:00-9:00PM - Come celebrate our new Pavilion! Bring your own lawn chair and enjoy a beautiful evening of music with Eric Loy, guitarist, and Earl Pittman, vocalist. Roast a marshmallow or two and welcome the "Good Old Summertime" at the Garber Nature Center.

• Download our 2012 Event list

Our new Pavilion.

Download a map of the hiking trails in the Garber Forest at the Nature Center
Please note: the TRAILS and boardwalk are at the rear of the property. Take the right turn at the Nature Center entrance and follow the paved to gravel road 1/2 mile out to the Garber forest.

Our Eloo restroom

A Little History - The Preble County Park District was created by Judge Dues in January of 2003. The first Park District Commissioners were appointed in February of 2003 and have worked diligently to establish the Board policies. In March of 2004, the Preble County Commissioners deeded over to the Preble County Park District, 100 acres of mixed farmland and forest to be used as the first County Park.

The land was donated by a local family and has been developed as the Allen & Adaline Garber Nature Center. About 33 acres of forest area has been developed into hiking trails. Another 60 acres remain as crop land and is leased out to bring income to the Park District. A wetland was created on some of the crop land and 975 trees were planted in an area adjacent to the forest.

An ODNR NatureWorks grant helped us build a 400' long handicapped accessible boardwalk that starts at the rear parking lot and ends at a viewing platform over looking our Old Oak Tree. A second NatureWorks grant helped us build an environmentally friendly restroom, "The Eloo," that was completed June 2010. The Pavilion was constructed with a third NatureWorks grant and completed early in May 2012.