Georgia Nature Center

Georgia Nature Center is located in Oconee County, Georgia, 20 minutes south of Athens, or 75 minutes east of Atlanta. The center is nestled among 100 acres of rolling hills, creeks, springs, meadows, fern grottos and hardwood forests known as the Indigo Preserve. Tours of the center feature our Clean Energy Exhibition with 3,000 watts of solar power, a wind turbine, and a 600-foot long geothermal air-cooling system.

Tours also go through our organic farm, where you will learn how dozens of species of heirloom fruits and vegetables are grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. Nearby in our carnivorous plant greenhouse watch demonstrations of rare wetland plants which have evolved to capture and digest live prey • from insects to animals as large as frogs, lizards and small mammals.

Nature trails follow Greenbrier Creek and wind throughout the preserve. As you walk, view native orchids, small waterfalls and dozens of mushroom species including the Indigo Mushroom for which the preserve is named. Wildlife is abundant: animals such as deer, wild turkeys, foxes, bobcats, owls, blue heron, raccoons, flying squirrels and 18-inch tall pileated woodpeckers are sometimes seen during guided nature hikes at Georgia Nature Center.