Learn about plants, animals, river, wetlands and more

History | Mission, goals

The Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center is a nature discovery center located on 1,600 acres of hardwood wetland habitat. The entire area, Oxbow Meadows Environmental Park, is at the southern end of the Columbus RiverWalk in Muscogee County, Georgia. The park, on the eastern floodplain of the Chattahoochee River, was named Oxbow Meadows because of its location on the meadows beside a large, meandering bend in the river, known as an oxbow. The park is bordered on the south and east by Fort Benning, on the north by Oxbow Creek golf course, and on the west by the Chattahoochee River.

The park is a learning place for people of all ages, and it provides an area for outdoor education, field experimentation, undergraduate-postgraduate environmental research and recreation. At Oxbow Meadows, the focus of education is on the Chattahoochee River, the river’s catchment, the area's wetlands, plant and animal diversity and general environmental issues. Oxbow Meadows endeavors to stimulate in all visitors an outdoor conscience and environmental awareness. Education also takes into consideration the historical, cultural and economic attributes of the area. Once a landfill site, Oxbow Meadows demonstrates for students and citizens how damaged land can be rehabilitated and maintained.