Wildlife Refuge / Ecological Preserve

The on-campus 189-acre Catawba Ecological Preserve,located adjacent to the Center for the Environment facility, provides uncommon opportunities for research and field work. Both the ecological preserve and the 300-acre Catawba Wildlife Refuge give Catawba students ample opportunities for analyzing ecosystems and learning about conservation management as well as providing a habitat for wildlife and a source of water purification.

In 1998 the Center worked with the LandTrust for Central North Carolina to place 130 acres of its preserve under a permanent conservation easement, which ensures that the land will always be held in its natural state. The Center also worked with the LandTrust to secure the wildlife refuge, which has also been placed under a conservation easement.