Bear Branch Nature Center is a nature center in

Carroll County, Maryland Carroll County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 172,891. Its county seat is Westminster. Carroll County is included in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is ...

near

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

. It features interpretive exhibits about local plants and animals, an outdoor water feature and play area, a Discovery Room for children, an observation beehive, live animals including an eagle, hawks, owls, snakes, salamanders, turtles, frogs, and toads, a planetarium and observatory. The center is a facility of Carroll County Recreation & Parks. The nature center is adjacent to Hashawha Environmental Center, a residential facility that is also operated by Carroll County Recreation & Parks. Hashawha Environmental Center is home to Carroll County Public Schools' Outdoor School, a residential environmental education program open to every sixth grade student in the county. The two facilities are located on approximately 320 acres, with more than five miles of multi-use trails, a restored 19th century cabin, a lake, a pond, and access to both Bear Branch and Big Pipe Creek.Carroll County Department of Recreation & Parks: Hashawha/Bear Branch, , accessed 29 Aug 2014.

History

In 1972, the county purchased the land on which Bear Branch Nature Center and Hashawha Environmental Center are built. The name "''Hashawha''" is a Native American word meaning "''old fields''."A Bark in the Park: The 50 Best Places to Hike With Your Dog in the ... - Doug Gelbert - Google Boeken
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Hashawha Tower

The Hashawha Tower is a 10 m (35 ft) tall

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...

donated to Hashawha

Westminster, Maryland Westminster is a city in northern Maryland, United States. It is the seat of Carroll County. The city's population was 18,590 at the 2010 census. Westminster is an outlying community within the Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA, which is part of a greate ...

, located at Hashawha Environmental Center.

Gallery

File:Butterflies on display at Bear Branch Nature Center.jpg, Butterflies on display in the Exhibit Hall File:Bear on display (Bear Branch Nature Center, 2010).jpg, Bear exhibit File:Lake Hashawha.JPG, Lake Hashawha File:Hashawha-Bear Branch Residence.jpg, View of the caretaker's residence File:Bear Branch Nature Center southwest exhibit room.JPG, View of the Exhibit Hall File:Bear Branch Nature Center Beehives.JPG, Bee hives on the property

References

External links

Hashawha/Bear Branch
- Carroll County Recreation & Parks {{Nature centers in Maryland 1993 establishments in Maryland Museums in Carroll County, Maryland Nature centers in Maryland Protected areas of Carroll County, Maryland Westminster, Maryland