Ohio Nature Education

4782 Riley Road
Johnstown, OH 43031
740.967.8320

*Events are open to the public

Volunteers Needed!

Please check out the calendar to the left or on the Program Information page to see dates for upcoming trainings and orientations. We can also help you fulfill your graduation requirements or offer internships. Please contact for additional information. You must be at least 16 years old and have your own transportation.

Special Announcement from the Animals!

Greetings from Bruce the Bat and Flower the striped skunk! We are the two new additions to the Ohio Nature Education menagerie. Apparently, as the newcomers we are responsible for writing this annual letter to you...Read More

About Ohio Nature Education

Ohio Nature Education is a private non-profit volunteer organization which provides a home for wild animals that can no longer live in the wild. We incorporate these animals into environmental education programs for people of all ages. Our customers include schools, Scout troops, garden clubs, senior centers, metro parks, and community centers. Our programs feature many visuals such as study skins and pelts and interaction with our audience. We utilize different formats and can custom design for groups of virtually any size and age range.

We are excited to be working with the Ohio Division of Wildlife with their Becoming an Outdoors Woman program. This workshop gives women a chance to experience or improve their skills in various outdoor activities and build camraderie with others. For more information on this program, please visit their site.

Our Mission

We are committed to creating an awareness of and appreciation for Ohio's natural habitat and wildlife by offering informative and entertaining education opportunities. Our hope is to instill in each person we meet a sense of conservation and stewardship for our natural world.

Ohio Nature Education provides homes for more than thirty five permanently injured or non-releasable animals that were facing euthanization. We incorporate these animals into our environmental education programs to people of all ages.

ONE at the William C. Kraner Nature Center

On February 21, 2011 Ohio Nature Education signed a lease agreement with the Licking Park District board to take over and manage the William C. Kraner Nature Center located at 10380 Fairview Rd, Newark, Ohio. The plan is to eventually move our headquarters and all animal enclosures to that location. We are excited with the possibilities of different programs we can offer as we now will have access to 600 beautiful acres of mixed habitat. We also look forward to increasing our volunteer base and giving the public a tangible project that they can support.

The nature center is staffed every weekend (except holidays). Feel free to stop by on Saturdays or Sundays between 12pm-4pm. We have several programs at the nature center you can attend, or just stop by to check out the nature center itself and see what's new! Also, be sure to check out a trail map of the nature preserve.

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