MUD LAKE — The beautiful surroundings of the Peak to Peak area face several natural and manmade challenges, from climate change causing increased fire risk and diminished water levels, to suburban, commercial, and recreational expansion threatening the health and stabilization of the ecosystem and local wildlife.

Mountain residents—already well-versed in exercising their resiliency—are forced to adapt to the new reality caused by these challenges as they learn to navigate Public Safety Power Shutoffs due to severe winds and increasingly dry weather conditions. 

Luckily, the Peak to Peak area is home to one organization which carries these concerns and advocates for the environment and for the community as they become increasingly impacted by environmental issues: Wild Bear Nature Center (WBNC). 

Throughout 2025, The Mountain-Ear covered the non-profit nature education organization’s progress in both the capital campaign for and construction of its brand new 8,500 square foot campus located right next to Mud Lake, just north of Nederland, conveniently close to Nederland Elementary School. 

Hope Munoz reported in April of 2025 that WBNC’s new nature center would not only be a net-zero facility, but, with its intention of installing 50 kWh worth of solar panels on its roof, will generate a net-positive impact and will return unused power back to the grid. 

To read the entire article, visit here: https://www.themtnear.com/stories/net-positive-nature-center-inches-toward-completion,40604

Jamie Lammers followed up on that report in August, during a live concert at the construction site, where WBNC celebrated reaching the final stretch of the construction phase for their center, and those solar panels had just been recently installed. 

The full coverage of that event can be read here: https://themtnear.com/stories/community-goes-wild-for-new-nature-center,52538 

Unfortunately, the Lakeview Fire of October 2025, took WBNC’s established location from the community, along with more than 20 other small businesses housed at the Caribou Village Shopping Center. 

But with residents across the Peak to Peak area rallying behind their beloved community nature center, WBNC lost little traction in being able to continue delivering on their mission—to inspire lifelong connections to nature—and on their goal of completing construction of what will become more than just their new facility—their new home. 

Living organism

Then, on March 4, 2026, WBNC’s Capital Construction Project Manager Liz McGuffee issued an official press release, stating that they had “flipped the switch” on its state-of-the-art solar energy system.  

“Boulder County intends to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035,” McGuffee’s release reads. “This is an ambitious goal, and Wild Bear is excited to serve as the leading example of what is possible when it comes to the construction of carbon-neutral builds in the high country.”

In addition to Boulder County’s goal for carbon neutrality, Xcel Energy has its own goal of delivering 100% carbon-free electricity to customers by 2050, and the Town of Nederland recently moved its goalpost for reaching 100% renewable energy from 2025 to 2030.

“Nestled into the hillside, it uses natural topography, passive solar gain, and thermal mass to respond to extreme climate,” E.J. Meade, Founding Partner and Principal Architect of Arch11 explained about WBNC’s new “living organism” of a nature center.

“This modern building is designed to generate more energy than it consumes, integrating 50 kilowatts of photovoltaic solar panels with a super-insulated, high-performance, airtight envelope.”

Through collaborative work with the Boulder-based company The Solar Revolution, WBNC has created its new building to be not just a place where people can learn about climate action, but can experience it in practice, as the hope is for the net-positive nature center to become a “resiliency hub,” for Peak to Peak communities. 

“These spaces are dependable sanctuaries where neighbors can gather when the high-country winds or heavy snows knock out the local power grid,” McGuffee concluded in her press release. “In times of need, the center would be a place to find warmth, charge a phone, and connect with the community.”