Outdoor Discovery Center Macatawa Greenway (ODCMG)
The Outdoor Discovery Center Macatawa Greenway (ODCMG) is a non-profit outdoor education organization. Through its programs, demonstration areas and interpretive exhibits, the ODCMG provides students and community members with up-close views of nature and learning opportunities about the West Michigan environment. Since 2000, the organization has served more than 200,000 children and adults through outdoor education and recreation programs. More than 75,000 people annually visit ODCMG sites to walk the trails and view the wildlife. Thanks to the 2009 merger of the Outdoor Discovery Center and Macatawa Greenway Partnership the organization now protects over 1,200 acres along the Macatawa River in Ottawa County and a 136 acre nature preserve in Fillmore Township.
The purpose of the Outdoor Discovery Center Macatawa Greenway is to connect people with nature through outdoor education for the benefit of wildlife and the conservation of the natural world. Our mission is create opportunities to discover the wonder of the natural world through outdoor education and recreation, and to protect and connect habitats and greenways for the benefit of wildlife, people, and the natural world.
The Macatawa River Greenway project is an effort to protect the banks, floodplain forest, marsh, meadows and wetlands along the Macatawa River, the community's main river. By protecting this continuous corridor for wildlife and plant habitat, the Greenway also significantly improves the quality of the waters flowing into Lake Macatawa and Lake Michigan. Throughout the Greenway, visitors will find wildlife viewing platforms and overlooks allowing visitors to view and explore the diverse Macatawa River environment.
The ODC Nature Preserve is open to the public and offers many diverse programs that help foster the concepts of wildlife management, conservation, outdoor education and preservation. Programs include: snowshoeing, fishing, handicap sensory nature walks, bird watching, ecosystem studies, pond studies, summer camps, natural history and wildlife studies. In partnership with the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District, the ODCMG provides on-site curriculum-correlated programs for students. Through these programs, the ODCMG provides an up-close view of nature and opportunities to learn about and better appreciate the environment in which we live. In all of its educational programs the ODCMG's inquiry-based style of programming allows students to learn about and experience nature and culture in a hands-on manner.
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