Nature is a powerful teacher. When we immerse ourselves in nature, it stimulates our creativity and imagination to a whole new degree.
When did you last stop, breathe and appreciate the great outdoors? There was a time when being a kid meant staying outside until dark. It meant coming home with a new rip in your jeans and muddy fingers, eyes sparkling with a day’s worth of adventures to share.
We can help our community rediscover the great outdoors through the Connect Campaign. This initiative is the driving force behind the construction of a new Nature Centre at Scanlon Creek. Here you can plug back into nature through hands-on activities, including natural programs that promote experiential learning, appreciation of nature and a healthy lifestyle.
Coming Soon! The New Home for Outdoor Education
At a Glance:
Approximate $13 Million project
Grand opening in 2026
Over 8,500ft2
Built using Net Zero V3 Design
4 flexible, multi-use rooms
Welcome to the region’s premier destination for experiencing and learning about nature!
In 2026, we will open the new Nature Centre at Scanlon Creek, a place unlike any other where you can become inspired by the wonders of the natural world and learn about your role in preserving it for future generations.
From exploring a hiking path and trailblazing through the woods, to learning to work together and discovering a fantastic insect, the new Centre will be a place for all of us to get active outside and to reconnect with nature.
With additional capacity for captivating hands-on workshops and events, the new Nature Centre will help cultivate a newfound sense of environmental responsibility and demonstrate the importance and necessity of preserving our precious green spaces.
The new Centre will be an immersive natural experience, blurring the lines between indoors and outdoors by incorporating the latest innovations in sustainable design and construction.
By joining the Connect Campaign you can help build a new environmental hub where our entire community—young and old—will have the opportunity to reconnect with nature once again!
The Old Nature Centre
At a Glance:
Since the 1980’s, the Nature Centre at Scanlon Creek Conservation Area has been the anchor of the region’s outdoor environmental education.
Generations of students can fondly recall their first trip to Scanlon Creek. For thousands of schoolchildren, it was the highlight of the year and the catalyst that encouraged a healthy respect for nature and its role in everyday life.
And now, after decades of use, it’s painfully evident that we’ve outgrown the existing centre. “Cozy” has turned into “cramped”, “outdated” has become “obsolete”, and we can no longer maintain the lofty standards that we expect from our educational programs.
The time has come for a new building that will carry the torch further!
Nature Centre Virtual Tour
Take a self-guided tour and see it for yourself!
We invite you to take a look around the current Nature Centre at Scanlon Creek. Move your mouse around for the full 360 degrees experience and click on the white “i” buttons for more detailed information for each space/location. Be sure to visit all 10 views/rooms. At the end of the tour we reveal the location for the new Nature Centre.
Current Nature Centre at Scanlon Creek Conservation Area
2024 Connect Campaign Update
We are getting closer to turning our vision into reality!
Read the June 2024 project update and watch this video, for a Connect Campaign update.
Learn about next steps for the Connect Campaign.
Experience the new Nature Centre
Experience the new Nature Centre with this ‘walk-through’!
What’s New
It’s Official! Construction of the new Nature Centre Has Begun!
Groundbreaking Ceremony Held on March 28, 2025 Marks a Milestone for the Nature Centre On Friday March 28th, Lake Simcoe Region...
Kumi Canada shows support in a big way
The Lake Simcoe Conservation Foundation is excited to announce that the Connect Campaign has received $100,000 donation from Kumi Canada....
Project Update: June 2024
Exciting Progress Update on the Scanlon Creek Nature Centre! We're thrilled to share the latest developments on our journey to bring the...
Donor Spotlight
A big thank you to Paul Sadlon from Paul Sadlon Motors. His private donation of $850,000 is – our largest donation to date!
Thanks to Mr. Sadlon’s support, the Connect Campaign has surpassed its ambitious fundraising goal of $3 million.
“I moved to Bradford as a young child and have lived here my entire life. This is Paul Sadlon country! My car dealership in Barrie has served the community for decades and I see firsthand the incredible work that needs our collective support. The new Nature Centre will be a one-of-a-kind facility that is desperately needed to keep our kids healthy, engaged and inspired by nature. I am very proud to support it.”
— Paul Sadlon, Paul Sadlon Motors
Lake Simcoe Conservation Foundation Dinner (June 14, 2023)
In photo: Paul Sadlon
View Connect Campaign Donors
Thank you Infrastructure Canada, who are generously providing $4.17 Million through their Green and Inclusive Community Building Program.
Nature Builder
Paul Sadlon Motors
DG Group
United Soils Management
Nature Ambassador
Kerbel Group/Andrin Homes/Lakeview Homes in Honour of Edythe M. Hall
Bazil Developments Limited
The Dalt Hicks Foundation
Treasure Hill
York Region
Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury
Kumi Canada Corp.
Nature Champion
Brookfield Residential (Ontario) Limited
Gwillimdale Farms Limited
Joseph and Najet Dableh Family Foundation
Len and Angela Ferragine, Bradford Greenhouses
Trisan (Angelo and Yvette Santorelli)
Nature Connector
Alectra
Calibrex Development Group
Clean River Recycling
DV Bell Foundation
Groundswell Urban Planners
K Winter Sanitation
King Cole Ducks
Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority Employees
Mosaik Homes
Pratt Homes
Redwood Properties
The Rose Corporation
The Sarjeant Co. Ltd.
Signature Homes
Upper Unionville Golf Club
Nature Lover
Ballymore Homes
Chi Ma
Helen McCrea Peacock Foundation
Liberty Developments
Lormel Homes
The Conzelmann Family
Virginia Hackson
WG5 Bravewolf Land Holding Limited
Wycliffe Thornridge Sharon Corners Limited
Nature Leader
Acorn Development Corporation, The
Alcona Capital Properties Inc.
Cabela’s
Debby Beatty
Leah Taylor Roy
RP (Royal Park) Partners Aurora Limited (Doug Skeffington)
Ryan Chieduch
Schaeffer and Associates Limited
Wood-Hall Family – Tribute to Edyth M. Hall
Yorkwood Homes (Sharon) Limited
Meet Our Connect Campaign Leadership Cabinet Volunteers
Thank You to our current Connect Campaign Leadership Cabinet volunteers, who are the tireless campaign ambassadors and door openers who have made the campaign to build a new Nature Centre a success.
Joanne Barnett, Co-Chair
Brad Rogers, Co-Chair
Paul Bailey
Debbi Conzelmann
Marvin Geist
Sarah Kurtz
Darren Steedman
