The River Bend Nature Center opened in 1978 as the “Faribault Area Nature Interpretive Center,” and was re-named the “River Bend Nature Center” in 1979. It was the fulfillment of founder Orwin Rustad’s vision of a nature center in the Faribault area and opened as part of Faribault’s bicentennial celebration. Though the first trails were staked in 1978, RBNC did not have its official opening until 1980 when it was dedicated on September 21 of that year. From there RBNC continued to grow in size and program variety. The current interpretive center opened in December of 1991 and RBNC began its summer day camp programs for children in 1997. Since then RBNC has continued to change and grow to create a place for community members to connect to nature.
Image above of founder Orwin Rustad on a hike with students from the Heroes of Riverbend webpage.
More Information about RBNC’s history can be found at:
