Rio Salado Audubon Center

A Nature Center for City Dwellers

Rio Salado Audubon Center is a nature center developed by the National Audubon Society in partnership with the City of Phoenix. It’s strategically located in the heart of the city with the goal to make nature-based education accessible to a multicultural community in the city’s central neighborhoods. The center includes an interactive nature conservancy exhibition and a multi-purpose learning center for community use. Exhibition spaces introduce visitors to the riparian ecology of the Rio Salado, while interpretive trails provide opportunities for self-directed learning and exploration. The project includes a roof-integrated photovoltaic solar system that produces approximately 50% of the Center’s annual energy demand. Similarly, wastewater is treated through an innovative on-site treatment system, which allows it to be used for the center’s landscape irrigation needs.