There will soon be another 80 reasons to visit the Ogden Nature Center this summer.

The Ogden Nature Center is putting the birdhouses entered into its 25th annual birdhouse competition on public display April 11 through June 23. The competition encouraged the construction of aesthetically pleasing birdhouses to attract wildlife to unique backyard habitats.

People of all ages were invited to submit entries before March 24.

“We want to encourage people to know what to put in their backyards to attract wildlife,” Linda Babcock, coordinator for the birdhouse competition, said.

She also mentioned the competition provides a creative outlet for the artistic community members.

While all entries are welcome, the Ogden Nature Center promotes the use of recycled materials and nontoxic finishes.

“My project was all recyclable,” Hooper resident Candace McLennan said. “Nothing was bought: it was all reused for the project.”

The Ogden Nature Center’s encouragement of reusable and recycled material in the birdhouse competition is no mistake. Since its founding in 1975, the Ogden Nature Center has sought to unite people with nature, nurture appreciation and stewardship of the environment.

“We come here every other weekend or whenever we can,” McLennan said. “We enjoy coming and watching the birds and the wildlife. We wanted to submit a birdhouse to contribute to the cause, which is to preserve the nature we have here.”

More than 100 unique birdhouses from the competition’s previous years are on permanent display at the Ogden Nature Center. They are featured prominently along the birdhouse trail leading to the visitor center.

“What’s cool is, given the same parameters, we got 80 entries,” Babcock said. “You never know what you’ll get.”

A panel of artists and naturalists will judge the birdhouses in a variety of categories and an award ceremony is slated for April 11 at 5:30 p.m.

The Ogden Nature Center is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The center is located at 966 W. 12th Street.

For more information, visit the Ogden Nature Center’s website at https://www.ogdennaturecenter.org/.