
By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Good content at a good price. Each year, the Kansas Wetlands Education Center provides hundreds of free educational programs in-house and across the region. Despite dry conditions at Cheyenne Bottoms, KWEC Director Curtis Wolf said the impact of the Center has not changed much in recent years, and 2024 was another big year.
"Overall, the total contacts we've had was more than 23,000 people we had contact with through the Center with drop-in visitors, outreach programs, onsite programs, and people we talk to at trade shows or festivals," he said.
KWEC saw 5,495 drop-in visitors in 2024 and featured 313 on-site programs and 439 outreach programs.
"The programming is still what I'm so proud of," Wolf said. "Mandy Kern is our educator and she just goes above and beyond for the number of programs she's offering with school groups, rec commissions, and even senior living homes. There are just so many different programs she does."
Already in January, Kern has headed 72 programs with more than 2,500 participants.