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Friends of Rye Nature Center

Friends of Rye Nature Center (FRNC) is an independent, not-for-profit organization that offers programs to people of all ages and abilities. We encourage conservation, provide environmental education, and promote our community’s access to nature, year-round.

FRNC strives to instill an understanding of and appreciation for one’s natural environment through teaching people about conservation and sustainable habits, and providing meaningful interactions with nature.

Our school study tours, early childhood education programs, camps, adult workshops, citizen science opportunities, and family programs allow nearly 30,000 annual visitors to engage with the natural world. Completed in 2018, our mobile exhibit and classroom, NatureStation, is our most innovative educational tool to date. This traveling nature center eliminates the transportation, financial, and logistical challenges preventing people from interacting with nature.

Annually, FRNC provides over $100,000 of scholarships and free programming so that low-income women, disabled adults and teens, underserved youth, senior citizens, and local families may have hands-on experiences with nature. One of our most noteworthy outreach programs is our annual summer camp for students living in the inner city. For twelve summers, 120 students living in the Bronx and Manhattan’s most underserved communities have attended summer camp, at no cost. These children experience nature firsthand, eat healthy food, see wildlife up close, and no matter what, have fun.

Your donation to FRNC through Climate Ride will support our environmental education and conservation programs so that no one is left inside.