It's the Last Day at Springbrook Nature Center for Director Siah St. Clair

Tuesday, April 30, 2013 is the last day for Siah St. Clair at the City of Fridley nature park he has led for 35 years. Among the comments on his retirement at the Springbrook Nature Center Facebook page:

• Thank you, Siah!! You're a legend!
• We will miss you. I love all you have done for the Nature Center.
• My daughters had lots of fun (+ learning) in the summer camps, especially wading into the wetlands and sampling for macroinvertebrates (such as wiggly insect larvae.) Great memories! Thanks.

The Springbrook Nature Center Foundation will host a retirement open house for St. Clair at SNC on Sunday, May 5, 2013, from 3–6 p.m. (program at 4 p.m.). The foundation notes that parking at the nature center is limited and recommends carpooling if possible. 

Here is the SNC Foundation's description of St. Clair's tenure:

Siah became SNC’s director in 1978. At that time Springbrook was empty land that was unique in that it has never been plowed or developed in any way. Under Siah’s leadership, Springbrook has become a leading environmental education center, an environmental research site, a place for family friendly programs and activities, and a place for community gatherings. In 2012, more than 750 programs were offered to 24,266 people; 1315 volunteers donated 17,719 hours of their time; and 4,652 people attended special events such as Pumpkin Night in the Park and Spring Fling.

The foundation also has these instructions for making a gift to St. Clair or a donation to the center on the occasion of his retirement:

To contribute a cash gift for Siah to use for camera equipment, travel or other fun retirement things, or to support Siah’s legacy at Springbrook Nature Center by contributing to the SPRING project, a project initiated by Siah to protect the majority of the park by focusing activities in the front seven acres: Go to http://www.springbrooknaturecenter.org, and look under the donate tab, mail a check to the Springbrook Nature Center Foundation, PO Box 32722, Fridley, MN 55432.  Be sure to note how you want your donation to be used. 

The money collected for a cash gift will be presented to Siah at the open house.  Funds designated for the SPRING Project will be used to name a part of the project for Siah. To learn more about the SPRING project go to the Springbrook website and click on “Foundation” and “SPRING Project.” Of course, Siah will receive a list of all who donated.