Aullwood Audubon Center
Aullwood is an environmental education center in western Ohio. Their goal is to promote the protection of birds, other wildlife and the habitats on which they depend. Aullwood offers both children and adults the opportunity to experience and appreciate the world through experience-based education.
Located 15 minutes from downtown Dayton, Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm is a 320 acres nature sanctuary maintained and operated by the National Audubon Society. Their 15 miles of trails lead to a diversity of wildlife and plant habitats with a 1/4 mile paved trail allows access to nature to everyone.
Their certified organic farm offers the opportunity to see sustainable agriculture techniques in practice. Adults can join an Aullwood naturalist for a morning walk to discover Aullwood from 8:00 a.m. until 9:30 a.m. every Thursday. As the seasons change, so do the wildlife and plants of Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm.
Aullwood History
While horse back riding along the country side of Dayton, John Aull discovered and fell in love with a piece of farmland just outside the small village of Little York. He purchased the 150 acre farm for a weekend retreat. After the great flood of 1913, the people of Dayton wanted to prevent future flooding disasters so they began to finance a flood control project. John agreed to sell part of his land to the Miami Conservancy District for the Englewood dam to be built. It was the largest of the 5 dams that were built. John Aull was more than happy to help finance such a project because he knew the safety of his farm depended on its development. This farm eventually became the heart and soul of himself and his wife Marie Sturwold.
When John died in 1955, Marie decided to donate the property surrounding her home to the National Audubon Society. Most of the property at that time was intensely used farmland and needed to be restored to its natural state. Natural areas had to be reestablished and nurtured. An existing barn was transformed into what is now the center and trails were built to provide access to the newly established habitats: stream, woodland, meadow, pond and marsh. Native wildflowers were taken from Marie’s garden and strewn along the small woods that were beginning to form. After only six months of work, the Aullwood Audubon Center was officially dedicated to the Dayton community on November 2, 1957.
Aullwood Audubon Center
1000 Aullwood Road, Dayton 45414
(937) 890-7360
John Audubon
John James Audubon (1785-1851) was not the first person to attempt to paint and describe all the birds of America, but for half a century he was the young country’s dominant wildlife artist. His seminal Birds of America, a collection of 435 life-size prints, quickly eclipsed Wilson’s work and is still a standard against which 20th and 21st century bird artists, such as Roger Tory Peterson and David Sibley, are measured.
