Friends of Jones County Conservation and Nature Center

FOJCCNC is a 501(3)c Non-Profit corporation. The group formed to honor the life of Keith C. Dirks. As  an avid outdoorsman and Jones County Supervisor, his contributions to Central Park and the Fox Den Nature Center are many. A bit of history about how Jones County Community Foundation came into being... a little more than a decade ago Keith Dirks suggested that this would be a great way to put the counties share of the "gambling money" from the state to use. "It started with an idea..."2017 we gave three Keith Dirks Memorial Scholarships to Anamosa High School students who are enrolled in STEM fields. We also put together a series of Nature Explorer Backpacks for the Nature Center to have on hand for families, campers, teachers, and youth group leaders to check out and use with their families, classes, and youth groups. They are designed to get kids into the out of doors while educating them on a specific theme with the help of an adult mentor (teacher, parent, grandparent, or youth group leader). The four we have so far are Backyard Bugs, Discovering Geology, Geocaching, and Backyard Birding. All contain hands on activities, books, equipment, and tools to use.

Testimonials

My husband and I both enjoy the variety of programs available to us at Central Park. From Monarch tagging, to river clean up on the Maquoketa River, to mushroom hunting to learning about owls, we are always amazed at just how fortunate we are to have Central Park and the Nature Center. Being able to help purchase educational materials for and give our time to the Nature Center programs is a bonus! ~ Derith and Gary

We have always enjoyed the park and its many programs with our children and grandchildren.~ Gay and Phil