Dodge Nature Center and Preschool

In this new era of artificial intelligence and limitless digital content, technology expands our possibilities — but it can also narrow our perspective. Our understanding of the world risks becoming flat: simplified, filtered, and detached from lived experience.

Places like Dodge Nature Center and Preschool restore balance. Here, learners of all ages engage with the living world through hands-on, face-to-face experiences guided by trusted educators in the classroom without walls. Turning over soil to find an earthworm or pausing to ask why and how invites discovery, dialogue, and a deeper understanding of the nuance that defines life on Earth

Technology connects us in remarkable ways — but nature reconnects us to what it means to be human.

For example...

Worms can aerate compacted soils and as they digest organic matter, their castings (poo) help enrich the land with nutrients that support healthy plant growth and faster decomposition.

And in Minnesota, they disrupt forest ecosystems, making it harder for native wildflowers, ferns, and tree seedlings to grow, while increasing erosion and nutrient loss.

Helpful in one ecosystem and harmful in another...

Which is why we need your support for human-led learning at Dodge.

When the digital world flattens complexity, nature brings it back to life — restoring depth through interactive experiences, reminding us that learning thrives in questions, not conclusions.

Your donation now through November 20 helps preserve spaces where authentic, human-led learning can continue to thrive alongside our digital world — grounding us in curiosity, connection, and care.

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Please note that if you indicate your donation to be anonymous in the donation form, Dodge is not informed of your name. If you would like to make your gift anonymously here, but for it to be attributed to your Dodge records, please email us to let us know at: HLouise@DodgeNatureCenter.org. Thank you!

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Dodge Nature Center and Preschool's mission is to provide exceptional experiences in nature through environmental education.

We welcome support in any way that works best for you! Checks with a note that your donation is for Give to the Max can be mailed to:

Dodge Nature Center
365 Marie Avenue W
West St. Paul, MN 55118

You can also initiate a gift via stock, IRA rollover, or donor advised fund. Please email us at HLouise@DodgeNatureCenter.org for more information and to credit it to Give to the Max Day.