Amid the everyday bustle of Columbia County there is a preserved pocket of land full of life, a whole little world not-so-hidden inside Martinez.
Reed Creek Nature Park and Interpretive Center is a place to learn, discover and admire. The park, which opened in 2007, is a suburban wetland that is home to hosts of flora and fauna native to the area but rarely seen elsewhere.
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“We’re surrounded by the suburbs and roads and businesses,” said Trish Hobbs, park coordinator. “We’re the last little patch in this busy Martinez area that’s a wildlife habitat and sanctuary. That’s what sets it apart.”
A stroll around the park could yield sightings of several species of amphibians, such as salamanders; countless colorful insects including the ebony jewel wing damselfly; and over 120 species of birds, including migratory birds and hunting birds like great egrets and blue herons.
Crystal, a corn snake, resides at the Reed Creek Park Interpretive Center. Staff photo by Skyler Q. Andrews 
Mellow Yellow is a red eared slider and resides at the Reed Creek Park Interpretive Center. Staff photo by Skyler Q. Andrews
The Interpretive Center, opened in 2010, is a science and learning facility that offers a wide variety of events and programs for both children and adults, many of them free. They include Saturday classes, like Water Wizards, which teaches kids about meteorology; and weekday classes, like the Afterschool Nature Club for homeschooled children, during which students explore the park.
On Aug. 20 and 21, the Interpretive Center will be the Columbia County site of the Great Georgia Pollinator Census, a statewide event organized by the University of Georgia in which participants count insects that land on a favorite pollinator plant for 15 minutes and categorize them.
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The Interpretive Center also hosts an annual Chocolate Festival in the springtime, with chocolate tastings and illuminated boardwalks. All the activities and festivities have a specific goal, according to Hobbs.
“Environmental education and getting people outside,” said Hobbs.
The boardwalk at Reed Creek Nature Park. Staff photo by Skyler Q. Andrews. A trail at Reed Creek. Staff photo by Skyler Q. Andrews.
The Interpretive Center is fundamentally about educating people about nature by getting them in touch with it.
Hobbs notes that learning about nature by reading a book, watching a documentary or even listening about it in a class is not as in-depth as actually seeing a snake move, watching a bird hunting or observing bees pollinating.
Ultimately, the park strives, along with conserving a precious area teeming with life, to combat what Hobbs calls outdoor or environmental illiteracy.
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“People do not feel comfortable outdoors because we’re so far removed from it in our buildings, our schools, our jobs,” she said. “Getting outdoors is an important way of feeling connected to the world.”
The Reed Creek Nature Park And Interpretive Center is at 3820 Park Lane, just off Furys Ferry Road Interpretive Center is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday through the month of October.
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For more information on the park and center and its many programs and events visit its website at https://www.columbiacountyga.gov/Home/Components/FacilityDirectory/FacilityDirectory/39/4823 or its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Reed%20Creek%20Park/163293747021230/, or call (706) 210-4027.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter with The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
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