Луизиана штатындағы табиғат мұражайлары мен саябақтар институты

Nonprofit that manages museums and parks dedicated to nature in Louisiana, United States

The Audubon Nature Institute (American English: /'//ɑː//d//u//b//ə//n/) is a family of museums and parks dedicated to nature based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The facilities include the Audubon Zoo, Audubon Aquarium, Audubon Louisiana Nature Center, Audubon Park, Woldenberg Riverfront Park, Freeport McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Center, Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species (ACRES), Audubon Wilderness Park, and Audubon Coastal Wildlife Network (CWN). Collectively, prior to COVID, there were 2 million annual visitors.

The Audubon family of nature sites and facilities began with Audubon Park – once home to Native Americans – and later, to New Orleans' first mayor, Étienne de Boré. He founded the nation's first commercial sugar plantation here, when New Orleans was still part of Spanish colonial Louisiana; and developed its first granulated sugar through a process invented by Norbert Rillieux, a local free man of color. The land did not fall into public hands until 1850, when a philanthropist willed the property to the city. During the US Civil War, the location alternately hosted a Confederate military camp and a Union hospital. In 1866, it was the activation site for the 9th Cavalry Regiment, the "Buffalo Soldiers," whose defense of the United States' western frontier made an indelible mark on America's African American heritage. Site improvements made for the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition of 1884 (Louisiana's first World's Fair) laid the foundation for an urban park. wiping out all Audubon operating revenues and forcing the layoff of nearly 600 employees. Nevertheless, Aquarium staff remained at their posts throughout the storm, as well as the subsequent flooding, doing what they could for the animals in their charge.