Friends of TNC

From its founding in 1967, the Thurston Nature Center was created by a community of students, teachers, scouts, parents, residents, and organizational partnerships, which this community has continued to maintain as a collective for nearly 60 years. The community efforts began in the 1960s. This group arose organically from the community in 2024 and became a formal organization in 2025.

Led by Dr. William Stapp, the founder of global environmental education, envisioned converting a polluted swamp into a flourishing ecosystem, intertwining environmental education through civic engagement. Today, the nature center is filled with habitats, plantings, signs and projects done by the collective of the community. This space was dedicated to conservation and environmental education by the Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education and Michigan DNR, and it has received multiple recognitions for the efforts put into the nature center.

As complementary organizations are limited in their ability to advocate, Friends of TNC was created out of that necessity to protect the investment made by this community over the 60 years with projects, maintenance, care and funds. We want to ensure that future generations to keep to the original mission of Dr.William Stapp with the Thurston Nature Center. We are an advocacy organization and represent the people who contributed and are committed to preserving this space for the birds, bees, children, and trees.

Friends of TNC is not affiliated with the Thurston Nature Center Committee or the Thurston PTO.