2021 Welcome to Mint Hill

Steven's Creek Nature Center & Preserve

From a hands-on living stream exhibit to a futuristic sandbox to rocking chairs placed in a peaceful setting with a view, the Stevens Creek Nature Center & Preserve offers activities for all ages of visitors.

“We’re trying to do programming for 8 to 80,” said Chris Matthews, director of nature preserves and natural resources for Mecklenburg County Parks & Recreation. “There’s a little bit for everyone.”

The center and surrounding property, located at 15700 Thompson Road in Mint Hill, represents the first Parks & Recreation facility in the town but also the culmination of a project 10 years in the making. Throughout the facility’s interactive exhibits and surrounding trails, visitors can learn about the local environment and effects on the water system.

“The theme of the building is ‘Life in the watershed hangs in the balance,” said Kristen Haas, Manager of the center. “Everything inside talks about what a watershed is, what watersheds we are in here in Mint Hill, how humans can affect the watershed, how we determine what water quality is and how we can protect it.”

Once stepping inside, visitors are greeted with design and exhibits that immediately draw them into the local environment. High, wooden ceilings and tall, surrounding windows keep the outside well in view while housing interactive displays to help guests understand the environment surrounding them.

A live stream provides close contact with local fish and reptiles while a 15-foot, augmented reality sand table allows guests to control the weather with their hands or move mountains with their arms.

“The project will change the color of sand whether you’re digging a hole or building a mountain,” Matthews said of the interactive sandbox. “It’s mesmerizing to sit there and play with it. It’s really, really cool. We’re super excited about it.”

Visitors can also learn about the Carolina heelsplitter, a freshwater mussel that once inhabited the local stream but is now listed on the federal endangered species list. Center officials hope that education, along with mitigation efforts on the land within the preserve, will help the species return.

“Basically, it was this long, wide, deep, straight stream,” Haas said of Stevens Creek. “They moved it and they made it very twisty-and-turny, which is better for water control, better for flood control.”

That layout is also better for the Carolina heelsplitter, which prefers “stable, silt-free stream bottoms,” according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“I think helping people understand why the heelsplitter is important and we do have a rare species that is important to the environment,” Matthews said of the displays highlighting the mollusk.

About five miles of walking trails around the center provide additional opportunities for education as well as enjoying a peaceful walk, Haas said. Future plans include adding picnic shelters, Matthews said.

With conference rooms available for rent and a wide variety of indoor and outdoor education programs, Stevens Creek is poised to become a go-to venue for everything from field trips to business presentations to reunions and weddings, all while educating the public about the protection and importance of their local watershed.

“There’s a little bit for everyone. It really is a community asset. We want folks to say, ‘Hey, I went to have a party at Steven’s Creek,’ or have a reunion here,” Matthews said. “The whole goal is to have a place where people feel cool to hang out.”

For information on Stevens Creek Nature Center & Preserve, including hours and program reservations, visit www.mecknc.gov/parksandrec or call 980-314-CLAM (2526).