Sibley Nature Center story
West Texas doesn’t boast of great beaches, majestic mountains, or beautiful greenery and many people forget that we still need wild spaces. One of these “wild spaces” is Sibley Nature Center.
In the 1970s, local educators, Essie Haisler and Billy Gilbreath went to a convention in Colorado, where they were given a tour of a learning area in the great outdoors. Once they returned to Midland, they started telling others about their experience and wanted to bring the idea to Midland. They eventually met a conservationist who brought the idea to the Midland Soil and Water Conservation District (MSWCD) board who took it to the city.
The City of Midland agreed it was a good idea and suggested using the undeveloped, “wild” part of Hogan Park. They also held meetings with MISD to encourage science teachers to bring their children out to the new trail.
The trails were laid out in 1980 and surfaced with ground caliche to create a better walking experience. There was also a small kiosk at the beginning of the trail with brochures. MISD teachers began taking their students out in the fall of 1980, and Midland College also used the trails as a teaching ground starting in 1982.
During the 1980s, a student at Midland College, Robert Bechtel noticed the trails and felt they were important to improve on them. He was a member of the Potts-Sibley Foundation board, so he took his thoughts to the rest of the board members who agreed to give the MSWCD $50,000 to build a nice facility to help further educate students and the public. They also told MSWCD if they could raise $50,000 of their own money, they would give them another $50,000 for a total of $150,000 for the facility. Between many local oil companies and foundations, including Abell-Hanger, Fasken, Texaco, and others, they were able to raise the last $50,000.
They held back a few years before moving ahead in 1986 to construct a building. It was called the Sibley Nature Center after the Sibley family who were from Ft. Stockton. The MISD science coordinator gathered a team of teachers, including Essie Haisler, to create a 6th grade curriculum. More and more students and their families were flocking to the facility, so they started hiring staff to man the trails and building.
Several years later in 2005, the MSWCD gave control of the facility to a non-profit organization who has continued running it to this day. Inside the facility, there are taxidermized mounts, exhibits showing the area, and excitingly the skull of a prehistoric crocodile-like animal called the Phytosaur. Just outside, there are native plants, with signs featuring the names of each beautiful flower, and if one ventures onto the trails, there are bunnies, and other wildlife as well as ponds and a canal.
In addition to the facilities, there are also outreach programs, such as Hike with a Homeless Pet, Forensic Science summer camp, teacher workshops, and more to get the community involved in one of the last wild places inside Midland city limits.