Nature Center

The Nature Center plays a dynamic role in educating and inspiring visitors about our local wetlands and award winning trails, as well as many City utility conservation topics. The Nature Center is housed under the City of Watsonville's Public Works and Utilities Department's Outreach Program.

  • FREE and bilingual English and Spanish
  • Beautiful exhibits with real birds and animals
  • Discover how to save water, make compost, recycle and more
  • Children's discovery corner
  • Drop in litter clean-up opportunities; materials provided
For local residents, the Nature Center is a wonderful place to get answers to questions you may have about public works services such as recycling, waste reduction and pollution prevention. You can also get information on available cash rebates for doing your part to conserve water. Come and visit us soon, in the back of Ramsay Park! All visitation is completely FREE of charge.

Guided Nature & Birding Walks


The Nature Center offers a free, bilingual nature walk every Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Join us in exploring our award winning trails through the rich wetland habitat.
  • No reservations required!
  • Families with children welcome
  • Binoculars provided
  • Bring water, sunscreen, comfortable shoes and dress for weather

Group Visits & Trail Tours by Appointment


Register your teen or adult group for a FREE guided tour of the wetlands trails. Your group will experience first-hand the beautiful birds and plants living in our local wetlands, and walk away knowing why and how to protect this unique habitat.
  • Minimum group size: 10 people
  • Visits tailored to fit needs and interests of group
  • Bilingual staff available
  • To register please call 831-768-1622 two weeks in advance

Special Events


Check our event calendar to keep up to date on our many special event days throughout the year that focus on different conservation and nature themes with fun activities indoors and out. All programs and activities are bilingual and free of charge.

Calendar, Directions, Flyer, Trail Map

  1. Directions to the Nature Center (PDF)
  2. Watsonville Slough Trails Map (PDF)
  3. Wetlands of Watsonville Bird Checklist (PDF)
  4. 2019 Event Calendar
  5. Nature Center Flyer