On July 27, 2023, Kirkpatrick Family Fund Real Estate, LLC, a subsidiary of Kirkpatrick Family Fund (an affiliated fund of the Oklahoma City Community Foundation), won an auction to purchase the property. The seller was the Commissioners of the Land Office (CLO), a constitutionally created agency of the State of Oklahoma. The Kirkpatrick Family Fund closed on the property on August 31, 2023. Wiggin Properties assisted with the process.

Kirkpatrick Philanthropies plans to restore and preserve the property and ultimately create the Red Ridge Study Center and Nature Preserve. It may include amenities such as a library, outdoor classrooms, and meeting spaces for the benefit of Oklahoma City residents and visitors. Preliminary plans include a restoration of the Mediterranean-style main house. (The name Red Ridge, chosen by Kirkpatrick Philanthropies, harks to the residence’s evolution into an art museum.) The surrounding green space has the potential to include community vegetable gardens and perhaps outdoor sculpture. Existing and future partnerships would inform programming and education opportunities.

A nature preserve is a protected habitat where plants and animals exist in the freedom of their natural environment with minimal disturbance from human activity. Nature preserves are important strongholds of conservation and biodiversity. They protect valuable native plants and animals that are increasingly being pushed out of their natural environment due to habitat loss, land development, and environmental degradation. To promote wildlife conservation, nature preserves are safeguarded from land development, industrialized use, hunting, and motorized recreation. They utilize the landscape as a living laboratory to promote education, research, and conservation stewardship. Nature preserves employ controlled access methods, and human activity is restricted to designated areas, with vehicle access managed accordingly. Nature preserves are not public parks, which are typically designed and maintained for community gatherings, events, and high levels of guest traffic. Nature preserves are quiet, protected landscapes where nature comes first, and conservation is paramount. Red Ridge Nature Preserve is dedicated to protecting this natural landscape in all its forms of flora, fauna, and geological significance.

We support Oklahoma City’s vision for a continuous bike trail, and understand the concept included a potential path through the preserve. As our conservation efforts developed, it became clear a bike trail running through the preserve would disturb the natural environment and dramatically harm plants and wildlife. We are currently engaging with city staff as they work toward alternatives that will benefit all trail users while furthering Red Ridge’s conservation mission. We look forward to sharing more information when it is available. For any inquiries regarding the bike path, please reach out to the OKC Parks Department at okcparks@okc.gov

Lance Swearengin is the deputy director of Red Ridge.

Red Ridge is a long-term project to be completed in phases. A phase-one opening date could be as far away as 2026 or even 2027. The first priority is to secure the property.

Yes. Since 1955, Kirkpatrick Foundation and Kirkpatrick Family Fund have a long and established history of property acquisition, development, management, preservation, and conservation as part of their nonprofit and philanthropic missions. Recent endeavors include Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center at 11th and Broadway in Oklahoma City, major capital improvements at Mollie Spencer Farm in Yukon, and acquisitions and capital improvements in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado.

Kirkpatrick Family Fund is an Oklahoma City philanthropy started in 1989 by John and Eleanor Kirkpatrick. The mission of Kirkpatrick Family Fund is to invest in ideas, leadership and programs that contribute to and advance the cultural, intellectual and societal interests of its community. The Family Fund operates alongside the Kirkpatrick Foundation, a separate charitable entity founded in 1955, which focuses on animal wellbeing, arts and culture, environmental conservation and historic preservation. Kirkpatrick Family Fund is guided by the values of Integrity, Leadership and Innovation; it accomplishes its mission by supporting organizations with bold, capable leadership and programs that are effective in addressing community needs.

In 1976, founder John Kirkpatrick established Omniplex (now Science Museum Oklahoma) on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard next to the Oklahoma City Zoo. In April 1978, the Kirkpatrick Planetarium officially opened. More recently, in 2011, Kirkpatrick Foundation and Kirkpatrick Family Fund made a $1 million leadership gift to the Oklahoma Zoological Society (also founded by John Kirkpatrick) to build the Joan Kirkpatrick Animal Hospital at the Oklahoma City Zoo. This private-public partnership has set the standard for zoo hospitals around the country. The philanthropies also have a history of support for the Millwood School District, Urban League of Greater Oklahoma City, Langston University, Restore, the Metropolitan Better Living Center, Freedom City, Oklahoma Historical Society, Girl Scouts Western Oklahoma’s Camp Trivera, and many other organizations.

Please email info@RedRidgeOKC.org and provide your contact information. We will share periodic updates about our progress via email, this website and @RedRidgeNaturePreserve on Facebook.

MISSION:
Red Ridge Nature Preserve’s mission is to steward, educate, and conserve our delicate ecosystem and restore the cross-timber forest to benefit wildlife, environmental conservation, and the community’s connection to nature.

VISION:
Advancing harmony, learning, and rejuvenation through nature conservation.

VALUES: 
• Prioritize nature first and humans next.
• Promote experiences that will spark sustainable behaviors.
• Foster the stewardship of our land with sensitivity and communication.
• Honor our commitment to successful ecological restoration.