Medicine Hat, AB – One of the most beloved places in Medicine Hat is Police Point Park. The Nature Centre is what separates it from other places.
Today the city celebrated the centre’s grand re-opening after renovations.
The building opened in 1982 and hasn’t seen many upgrades since.
Planning for renovations started in 2017, but with donations from South Country Co-op and the Medicine Hat Accommodation Association, they were able to make even more changes.
“We started with a project that was like $270,000 and ended up with something in the neighbourhood of $700,000 or $800,000. It just took more time.” Said Maureen Mudry, manager of special projects with parks and recreation.
Those renovations included new concrete siding to make the building less flammable, new walls inside for the exhibit space, and an upgrade to the Prairie Viewpoint.
One of the main focuses throughout the upgrades was making sure the building was accessible with new washrooms and an automatic glass sliding door.
The sliding door is one of the chief park interpreter, Corlaine Gardner’s, favourite parts.
“They use to be solid doors and the place always looked kind of closed. Now we can see people, they can see that it’s open and it’s much airier and more open.” Gardner said.
Gardner hopes that even more people will come out to see what the Nature Centre does.
“If they don’t know Police Point, they are in for a real treasure.” She continued. “There’s always something happening. We’re the place to come if you have questions about the bird nesting in your yard or what to do if you see a fawn or how to learn to snowshoe when we get snow in the winter. All of those things.”
The Nature Centre is open Tuesday through Thursday 9 a.m. until 2 p.m..
