But this latest effort, dubbed 2020 Vision, In Brooklyn, the center will be in a calls for centers in such areas as: refurbished boathouse under Prospect • A once graffiti-scarred park in East Los Park, which borders the working class Angeles communities of Bedford-Stuyvesant and • A tall grass prairie in a working-class Crown Heights as well as upscale Park section of Lincoln, Neb. Slope. NEW YORK - Nature exists in the con- • A bend of the Rio Grande River in The 540-acre park has long been a crete jungle - and the National Audubon So- Brownsville, Texas destination for joggers, children and young ciety wants to help people connect with it. Fundraising drives are underway for each couples. But only the most enthusiastic That could be by bird-watching around center, which typically costs up to $11 mil- bird-watchers would have been aware a former city reservoir or listening for the lion for an education facility, land and opera- of 200 species of birds passing by on call of a red-winged black bird in the heart tions. In some cases, the society will open migratory paths, or the bullfrogs and bats of Brooklyn. a center in existing city or county parks. In that live there. So the nearly century-old society plans other areas, it might buy a parcel of land. “Itʼs going to make a whole different sense to open 1,000 nature centers by 2020 in Moving into these areas has caused some of pride to Brooklyn,” says Tupper Thomas, economically depressed rural and urban ar- adjustments in the way the society does president of the Prospect Park Alliance, a eas across the country. business. When it wanted to involve chil- coalition of community organizations. The first will open April 26 in Brooklyn. dren in activities at a local park in Los An- Many donʼt even know there are myriad “Itʼs all about building a broader constitu- geles, the issue was crime. Families had to bird species in the vast park, she says. “Peo- ency for conservation,” Audubon President be assured the 225-acre site was safe before ple from Brooklyn are even more surprised Kohn Flicker says. “Itʼs important if people they would send their children. than people from Nevada.” In south Seattle, are going to care about the environment that So the society is spending a year to help more than 70 ethnic groups live near the they have some connection with it.” clean the park and get rid of graffiti while 399-acre Seward Park, where an Audubon The Audubon Society was named for it sponsors activities such as bird-watching. Center will open. wildlife painter John James Audubon. It The center, operating out of a local store- The park was a center of gang has become one of the most influential front, is scheduled to open in fall 2003. activity a decade ago, but it became safer as environmental groups in the nation, but its The society wants to teach more than the city began to stage track meets and ethnic 500,000 members are older and whiter than 30,000 schoolchildren and others who live festivals there. the USAʼs population. within 2 miles of the park about the hum- Community advocates say they would The nature centers offer exhibits and edu- mingbirds and coyotes that live there, just like to see the park become more of a cational programs about nearby birds, other minutes from downtown Los Angeles. natural refuge to be enjoyed by the animals and the environment. The society “Itʼs a great opportunity, especially for the Somalian, Cambodian and Vietnamese hopes to attract young people, immigrants low-income community, because they canʼt immigrants who live nearby in densely and people of color. afford to take their kids to the museum or the packed apartment buildings. “Itʼs going to change us a lot, because zoo,” says Elsa Lopez, executive director of “Itʼs the incredible jewel of Seattle,” says weʼre going to end up having to reflect the Madres del Este de Los Angeles (Mothers of Mardi Roberts, president of Friends of communities that we serve,” Flicker says. East Los Angeles), a community organiza- Seward Park. “We have a lot of low-income “Thatʼs probably the best thing that could tion that has worked closely with the Audu- housing areas, and itʼs just a real opportunity happen to us.” bon Society. “Itʼs an experience for them to to learn about nature.” Many of Audubon Societyʼs original 35 know these people are here. Theyʼre here to centers are concentrated in affluent suburbs. stay. Theyʼre part of the community.”