Mark Oestreich, Westwood Hills Nature Center manager, was awarded the Gil Braun Community Service Award by the St. Louis Park Rotary Club this June. The annual award spotlights exemplary community leadership and service in the City of St. Louis Park.

Mark joined Westwood Hills Nature Center as a naturalist in 1990, becoming manager of the nature center 10 years later. He played a major role in the planning of the state-of-the-art, zero-energy certified interpretive center that was built at Westwood in 2020.

He’s dedicated his years of service to teaching, sharing and promoting the world of nature around him to visitors and students of all ages. As an active member of the Minnesota Naturalist Association and Association for Nature Center Administrators, he continues to be a model to others in the field.