July Programs

Watch Bats, Attract Hummingbirds, Build a Bird Nest Box, Be a Better Birdwatcher in 20 Minutes and Take a Walk on the Wild Side

Click here for more information.

For information about group tours, click here.

Please do NOT "rescue" baby animals!

This is the time of year when we feel compelled to rescue baby birds and other wild animals.  Don't.

It is "natural" to find feathered baby birds on the ground and "abandoned"  fawns  this time of year.  Please do not "rescue" them - their parents are watching out for them.

Please do NOT bring wildlife to the Center.

We do not have the required permits (or the funds) to operate a wildlife veterinary clinic.  For a list of licensed wildlife rehabilitators, please click here.

If you find an injured wild animal, call Animal Control (706-561-8602) or the Georgia Department of Natural Resouces  (478-751-6415).

Take a Walk on the Wild Side

Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center sits in a bend of the Chattahoochee River in south Columbus - across the street from the new National Infantry Museum at Ft. Benning. Our two "easy walking" nature trails bring visitors close to wetland plants and wildlife - birds and butterflies, reptiles and amphibians, and if you're really lucky - wild bobcats.

We no longer keep live animals in cages indoors or outside.

You can see our taxidermy collection at the Chattahoochee RiverWatch Museum in downtown Columbus at 1100 Broadway  call:  706-317-4837

Spend some time in the Center watching the wildlife at our feeding stations.  Then head out to the trails to see the wading birds, herons, waterfowl and songbirds.   You can spot otters, beaver and deer early in the morning from the paths by the ponds.

Trails into the Environmental Park are open 7am - 5:30 pm.

Bring your binoculars, or ask us for loaners.  We provide Leupold 6x30 Yosemite binoculars.

Please leave your pets (dogs, cats, llamas, horses, etc) at home.

Please park in designated areas only in the parking lot at the entrance to the Oxbow Meadows Environmental Park.  Call ahead for directions and access to our handicapped accessible lot.

The gates to the Environmental Park Park are locked every day from 5:30pm to 7am.

Cyclists:  Please park your bikes at the rack by the  Chattahoochee RiverWalk .  Please do not leave your bikes on the path to the building, at the building entryway or on the grass.  Bikes are not permitted on the nature trails or on the landscaped area in front of the environmental learning center building.

Please pack out your litter.

Please, no dogs (other than seeing-eye dogs), no smoking, no boats, no fishing, no boom boxes, no alcoholic beverages on the Environmental Learning Center grounds and trails.

Oxbow Meadows is an outreach program of Columbus State University operated in association with Columbus Water Works.