WNC Nature Center renovations: What's new, what's coming soon to Asheville wildlife park?

Sarah Honosky, Asheville Citizen Times
·3 min read
Eeyore, a Sicilian donkey at the Western North Carolina Nature Center in East Asheville. Born in Weaverville in 2001, Eeyore came to the nature center in March 2002. He's been at the barn longer than any other nature center animal.
Eeyore, a Sicilian donkey at the Western North Carolina Nature Center in East Asheville. Born in Weaverville in 2001, Eeyore came to the nature center in March 2002. He's been at the barn longer than any other nature center animal.

ASHEVILLE - As the Western North Carolina Nature Center heads toward the end of what will likely be another record-breaking year, a permit application submitted Nov. 16 outlines several upcoming renovations, including an immersive live butterfly exhibit, a gift shop and updates to its domestic animal space — which houses the menagerie of goats, sheep and donkeys that greet visitors as they enter the park.

Director Chris Gentile said the $1.5 million in renovations will achieve a "dramatic gateway to the Southern Appalachians," creating a more "contiguous" flow of exhibits, tying together the upper and lower levels of the park.

Once the final permitting application is approved, the project will go out for bid, Gentile said, with construction to start in late March or early April 2024. He anticipates project completion in spring 2025, though it will likely open in stages.

Asheville’s city owned wildlife park sprawls across 42 acres in East Asheville, home to more than 60 species of wild and domestic animals and hundreds of species of plants, all representative of Western North Carolina's unique bioregion, including several newcomers, like bobcat kittens, Tufts and Kohana; raccoons, Grace and Frankie; coyote pups, Cal and Walker; and a litter of nine critically endangered red wolf puppies, born in April.

Tufts the bobcat, one of the newest additions to the Western North Carolina Nature Center in East Asheville.
Tufts the bobcat, one of the newest additions to the Western North Carolina Nature Center in East Asheville.

The project includes:

  • The removal of the park's 1940s elephant care house to allow for the grading of the hillside, giving goats and sheep access to the space to graze. Farm exhibits are shifting up the hill to open up the plaza and make room on the north side for the butterfly exhibits.

  • A seasonal live butterfly exhibit replete with native plantings, chrysalis boxes and information about how to turn your garden into a butterfly sanctuary.

  • A caterpillar play structure, butterfly musical instruments, benches, metal shade structures in the shape of a monarch and swallowtail, a nature center history wall and improved gem mining sluice.

  • A new concrete and brick event plaza.

  • An 800-square-foot gift shop.

  • Sidewalk improvements.

The renovation is part of ongoing enhancements to encourage more and longer-lasting visitation, such as the new front entrance and gift shop relocated in 2018, and an upcoming black bear boardwalk extension and habitat reconstruction, slated for 2025.

The project was funded by the city, the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority and the Friends of the WNC Nature Center.

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An oberhasli goat, Alpine, in the domestic animal exhibit at the Western North Carolina Nature Center in East Asheville.
An oberhasli goat, Alpine, in the domestic animal exhibit at the Western North Carolina Nature Center in East Asheville.

Attendance on the rise

When Gentile began with the center in 2009, it received some 87,000 visitors a year. Since then, numbers have only continued to climb. Its biggest visitation year to date came in 2019 with 181,130 visitors, and its biggest admission revenue years in 2021, drawing $1.1 million.

Gentile said the center is on track to beat those numbers in 2023 with an estimated 188,000 guests and $1.2 million in admission revenue.

Over the past 10 years, ticket prices have also been climbing, with increases in 2010, 2015 and 2021. Now, ticket prices are $13.95 for non-Asheville visitors, 13 and up, and $9.95 for residents. For children 12 and below, prices are $9.95 for non-Asheville visitors and $7.95 for residents. Gentile said he does not anticipate another increase for several years.

More: What to know about WNC Nature Center: New exhibits? Still for locals? Higher ticket costs?

New bobcat kitten Kohana at the Western North Carolina Nature Center in East Asheville.
New bobcat kitten Kohana at the Western North Carolina Nature Center in East Asheville.

Open Thanksgiving?

The nature center will be closed Thanksgiving Day, but open for its normal hours the rest of the week, from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Gentile said it's a popular time for visitors, with kids out of school and family in-town for the holidays.

"It's going to be in the high 50s," Gentile said of the weekend's weather, "absolutely perfect. So we should have a great opportunity for people to come out and see some cool stuff this weekend."

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Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: WNC Nature Center renovations butterfly exhibit and more