North Texas Municipal Water District and John Bunker Sands Wetland Center Celebrate New Education Facilities

The John Bunker Sands Wetland Center (Center), along with the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) and The Rosewood Corporation, invites the public to celebrate the completion of expanded education facilities at a grand reopening event scheduled for Saturday, April 2 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 655 Martin Ln, Combine, TX 75159.

The festivities will include free entry to the Wetland Center, cattail ribbon cutting ceremony, live bald eagle presentation by Window to the Wild, sneak peek of environmental field studies, boardwalk tours, local food trucks and much more. Centrally located in the middle of NTMWD’s East Fork Water Reuse Project, the John Bunker Sands Wetland Center originally opened in 2010 to provide education and research opportunities pertaining to water conservation, wetland systems and wildlife management.

“Our vision has always been to provide the best environmental education programs and conservation awareness in the most unique habitat of the NTMWD East Fork Wetland,” said John DeFillipo, Director of the John Bunker Sands Wetland Center. “And now, after five years of planning, dreaming and fundraising, we have the facilities that expand our capabilities to reach even more North Texans.”

This expansion meets the need for explosive program growth, diversification of revenue streams for the Center, and creation of new spaces for conservation partnerships with other local nonprofits. New facilities include the Pavilion Silos, additional classrooms and event space. The expansion design blends into the ranch and wetland environment with sustainable attributes, energy-conscious structures and the flexibility to welcome 120 students on a field study or hundreds of adults for special events.

“NTMWD’s East Fork Water Reuse Project has been key to expanding our water supply for over a decade,” said NTMWD Board Director Terry Sam Anderson, who also serves as President for the John Bunker Sands Wetland Center Board of Directors. “From the Center’s inception, ensuring that we provide critical water conservation and reuse education through the Center is at the heart of our legacy to be good stewards of our environment and resources.”