A History of Cayuga Nature Center

Cayuga Nature Center was originally the Cayuga Preventorium. When Tuberculosis (TB) was rampant all over the country, it was believed that the disease could be prevented if children exposed to TB could be placed in camps with plenty of good fresh air. In 1914, the Preventorium was located on the East side of the lake at Estys Point, housing youngsters during the summer months.

By the 1930's, TB was no longer as big a threat and the Preventorium was used to sponsor a series of cardiac clinics. Mr. and Mrs. Ernest T. Paine gave 75 acres of land on the West side of the lake to be used to serve children recuperating from cardiac and other debilitating diseases, and the WPA completed the building project in 1939. With the onset of War, however, the camp was forced to close. In 1950, Cornell leased the building for student housing. In later years, the building was used as a camp for children of working mothers, but remained closed for about 45 weeks of the year.

In the 1960's, many more camps began to open and the need for one at the Preventorium dwindled. The Board of Directors then decided to offer the facility as a conference center available year round. Conferences and small Day Camps covered the day to day expenses, but the building was not used to its full potential. A new direction was given at a workshop in Brewster, sponsored by the State Education Department, concerning Board of Cooperative Extension Services (BOCES) outdoor education programs. As a result of this conference a program was set up for outdoor education with BOCES using the Preventorium as a base for promoting outdoor and environmental studies.

Due to the success of this program, BOCES, the Ithaca schools, and Onondaga Nature Centers, Inc., decided to work together, and the Preventorium opened in 1975 as a Nature Center.

The Preventorium has since changed its name to the Cayuga Nature Center, offering environmental education to local school districts, and the rental of its facilities for weekend groups.

In 1981, Cayuga Nature Center was incorporated as an independent, private, non-profit educational organization. Over 25,000 individuals participate in the Center's programs and activities annually.

General Program Objectives of the Cayuga Nature Center

1. To promote awareness and understanding of the environment and people's relation to it.
2. To promote the concern and responsible action necessary to preserve the integrity of the natural world and to improve the quality of life.
3. To provide environmental education opportunities for people of all ages and incomes.
4. To provide participants with experience that may develop into lifetime, professional and/or leisure skills.
5. To provide small group-learning situations in a relaxed atmosphere in order to overcome some of the difficulties involved in learning in large groups.
6. To provide a program setting in which individuals with emotional, physical and cognitive disabilities can have the opportunity to succeed and excel.
7. To provide participants with an opportunity to gain awareness and knowledge in a wide variety of subject areas through hands-on learning.
8. To provide programs for family participation.
9. To provide and maintain a residential nature center for the promotion of outdoor education.
10. To operate in a sound financial manner using generally accepted accounting principles.