Aspen Center for Environmental Studies

The Aspen Center for Environmental Studies is located within Hallam Lake Nature Preserve, which is right in the Town of Aspen, Colorado. This family-friendly environmental center is an ideal sojourn for those who are outdoor-curious, but backcountry shy, as it offers a perfect introduction to the great outdoors. Numerous natural science programs are offered throughout the year and the center is renowned for its work with school-age children, but it also has activities for all generations and interests.

Elizabeth Paepcke formed the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies in 1969 with a donation of 22-acres for the development of an environmental center and preserve, which included Hallam Lake. She envisioned a place that would provide a bridge back to nature for an increasingly urbanized and resource-devouring society and provide sanctuary for wildlife in the heart of Aspen.

The Hallam Lake Nature Preserve is a riparian community located adjacent to a river that supports a diversity of plant and animal life, and has been permanently set aside to protect plants and animals native to the Aspen area. Hallam Lake encompasses a marsh, a wet meadow, a river and a pond.

The Aspen Center for Environmental Studies is a licensed wildlife rehabilitation center, which cares for injured and orphaned wild animals. Some of these animals once rehabilitated cannot be returned to the wild, so they continue to live at the center and are used in educational programs with permission from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

A self-guided nature trail snakes around the preserve and is a favorite with bird-watchers. The visitor center features an indoor trout stream swarming with native cutthroats, as well as an environmental library and a gift shop full of books, gifts and toys.