About Us

Touch of Nature Mission Statement

The mission of Touch of Nature Environmental Center is to enhance learning, promote professional development, encourage personal and interpersonal development, and increase environmental awareness.

The Center serves Southern Illinois University Carbondale, the region, and the nation as an outdoor laboratory for experiential learning, a field site for research, and a provider of therapeutic recreation, environmental education, outdoor adventure, personal and interpersonal growth experiences and conference service facilities.

Touch of Nature Vision

Touch of Nature Environmental Center will once again be a leader in experiential education.  In the next five years, we will redesign our programs to meet the changing needs of our target populations.  We will build strong relationships with the academic units at SIUC to provide experiential education components to the curriculum, increase site usage, facilitate research opportunities, and to showcase the beauty of southern Illinois and this unique property that is an integral element of SIUC.  The Center will provide a unique venue for programs, conferences, and events.  We will strengthen existing relationships within SIUC academic units and the broader southern Illinois community, and will create new relationships within and beyond the state of Illinois.