AT: Prairie Restoration and Preservation at Armand Bayou Nature Center

by Tim Pylate

Armand Bayou Nature Center was founded in 1974 as a result of efforts begun by an environmental visionary, Armand Yramategui. Armand foresaw the urban growth around Armand Bayou and strove to have this land remain a wilderness. Armand’s tragic death in 1970 inspired Hana Ginzbarg to start a campaign to raise funds and public support for the now preserved as ABNC in the memory of Armand Yramategui.
Armand Bayou Nature Center has become a well established non-profit organization with the mission of preserving and restoring three diverse and imperiled Gulf Coast habitats.
ABNC is one of the largest urban wilderness preserves in the United States and contains 2500 acres of the natural wetlands forest, prairie and marsh habitats once abundant in the Houston and Galveston area. ABNC is home to over 370 species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians and strives to educate and inspire people of all ages to explore, respect, and protect nature and our vital local ecosystems.
Tim Pylate has been at the helm of Armand Bayou Nature Center since 2018. Hailing from Pearland, Texas, Tim has more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector and has served in leadership positions in major nonprofits all around the world, including the former Soviet Union, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and the United States. In addition, Tim spent several years teaching in the United States and in Ukraine as a Peace Corps Volunteer, where he became fluent in Russian. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Sam Houston State University and a Master of Education from the University of Texas, El Paso. He is a lifelong lover of the natural world and the outdoors, and he is an avid herpetology enthusiast. Tim is a triathlete, and he and his wife, Kara, enjoy participating in various types of outdoor races. They have three children.