UPCOMING EVENTS AT STATE PARKS, FORESTS, AND TRAILS
WATCHABLE WILDLIFE OPPORTUNITIES AND INTERPRETIVE PROGRAMS
Check with the park or forest of your choice for additional activities and special events not listed. Most events are free of charge; park admission sticker required unless otherwise noted. Events and times subject to change.
Friday, May 2, 2008
• Havenwoods State Forest, Milwaukee, (414) 527-0232 - Learn the Sky with your Naked Eye. Join Mary and Joe Glover to learn about the night sky - at night! Come first and learn how to use a star chart, look for constellations, and find the North Star. After the program, we will go outside and look for the stars we just learned about. If you have already been to the program, just meet us outside to look for the stars. Environmental Awareness Center. Program at 7:30 p.m., stargazing at 8:30. No admission sticker required.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
• Great River State Trail, Trempealeau, (608) 791-9544 - Half Marathon and 5K Run/Walk. The 13.1-mile race starts in Trempealeau and the 5-kilometer race at Midway; both end at the trailhead in Onalaska. Splits, water, sport drinks, volunteers and medical support personnel will be available along the route. Sponsored by St. Clare Health Mission. Buses will take runners from Skogen/Festival Support Center, 237 2nd Ave. S. (Hwy 35), Onalaska, to the race starting places, beginning at 6:30 a.m.
• Havenwoods State Forest, Milwaukee, (414) 527-0232 - Family Program: Wildflower Walks. The woodland wildflowers are just starting to pop up out of the ground. We’ll search for flowers and learn how they grow. We’ll plant some new ones to help keep our woods growing with wonderful wildflowers. 10:30 a.m. - noon. No admission sticker required.
• Kettle Moraine State Forest—Southern Unit, Eagle, (262) 594-6200 - Volunteer Work Day. Help build some technical, challenging and environmentally sustainable mountain bike trails in the Kettle Moraine. Work gloves, long pants, long sleeve shirts and bottled water are recommended. We will supply tools, expertise and guaranteed fun! If the weather looks questionable, check the Trail Information Line (262) 594-6202 on Friday to make sure the work day is not canceled. Meet at the John Muir parking lot at 8:30 a.m. and work from 9 a.m. - noon.
• Peninsula State Park, Fish Creek, (920) 421-1518 - Door County Half-Marathon. The Nicolet Bay 5K Fun Run/Walk begins at 10:30 a.m., just after the start of the half marathon. This race also starts near the beach. Runners may pick up their packets on Friday, May 2, from 3-9 p.m. at the Ephraim Town Hall, Highway 42, where there will be a pasta dinner from 5-8 p.m. Friday. The course starts and ends near Nicolet Beach. 10 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
• Richard Bong State Recreation Area, Kansasville, (262) 878-5600 - Make a Memory Stepping Stone. Make a beautiful garden stepping stone for yourself or for a gift. Bring durable items from home--such as marbles, china, old jewelry--to embed or use some of our items. You will need to pick up your project at a later date. Call to preregister and prepay the $10 fee. Sponsored by Bong Naturalist Association. Meet at the Visitor Center. 10-11 a.m.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
• Havenwoods State Forest, Milwaukee, (414) 5277-0232 - Preschool Storytime: Sprouting Seeds. Could a dried-up, brown seed really be alive? What does it mean to be alive? We'll explore these questions and make a special take-home project. Environmental Awareness Center. 9:30-10:30 a.m. No admission sticker required.
Saturdays, May 10 and June 14, 2008
• Havenwoods State Forest, Milwaukee, (414) 527-0232 - Rain Garden Workshop. In this two-part workshop Sharon Morrisey, Milwaukee County University of Wisconsin-Extension Consumer Horticulturist, will show how to create a beautiful yard with native perennial plants while reducing rainwater runoff. Session 1, indoors: The value of rain gardens and rain barrels, site-specific rain garden design and construction, and plants that thrive in rain gardens. Session 2, outdoors: How to lay out a rain garden and prepare the site. Help plant native plants in Havenwoods’ new rain garden. Send name, address, contact information, and check for $6 for the first person in a household and $2 for each additional person to UWEX Rain Garden Workshop, Milwaukee City UWEX, 932 S. 60th Street, West Allis, WI 53214. 9-11 a.m. No admission sticker required.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
• Devil's Lake State Park, Baraboo, (608) 356-8301 - Birding Hike. Enjoy one of the park's beast birding spots. Expect to find neotropical migrants, like warblers, grosbeaks and tanagers. Register with University of Wisconsin-Baraboo. Sponsored by UW-Baraboo/Sauk County Continuing Education. Messenger Creek. 8-10 a.m.
• Havenwoods State Forest, Milwaukee, (414) 527-0232 - Discovery Saturday: Borrow Some Binoculars. The birds are starting to migrate, so borrow some binoculars from us and do some bird watching. You’ll also have a chance to make your own super-duper outdoor lookers. Drop in anytime 9 a.m. - noon. No admission sticker required.
• Kettle Moraine State Forest—Southern Unit, Eagle, (262) 594-6200 - Volunteer Work Day. Help build some technical, challenging and environmentally sustainable mountain bike trails in the Kettle Moraine. Work gloves, long pants, long sleeve shirts and bottled water are recommended. We will supply tools, expertise and guaranteed fun! If the weather looks questionable, check the Trail Information Line (262) 594-6202 on Friday to make sure the work day is not canceled. Meet at the John Muir parking lot at 8:30 a.m. and work from 9 a.m. - noon.
• Kohler-Andrae State Park, Sheboygan, (920) 451-4080 - National Astronomy Day. Celebrate National Astronomy Day with "Search the Sky with the Naked Eye" presentation by the Glovers, followed by telescope viewing courtesy of Rustic Skies Astronomy and Plymouth Star Gazers. Please dress warmly; bring blanket or chair. No pets allowed. Bath house building. 7-10 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday, May 10-11, 2008
• Crex Meadows Wildlife Area, Grantsburg, 715-463-CREX (2739) - Spring bird festival. This event coincides with the peak of the spring bird migration and International Migratory Bird Day. The event begins 5 p.m. Saturday with a presentation on the Birds of Crex, followed by a birding tour through Crex Meadows to watch the sun set over the refuge. Sunday leads off with the “Crex Specialty” tour from 4 to 7 a.m. and the “Early Bird Special” tour from 7 to 9:30 a.m. Space is limited for the two early morning tours and reservations are required. Buses leave the education center at 10 a.m. and noon for ninety minute birding tours of Crex Meadows and Fish Lake Wildlife Areas. Reservations are not required for the bus tours but a nominal donation is requested to cover the cost of bus rental. Various birding related programs are scheduled throughout the day. Tag along with bird bander, Bruce Bacon, as he tends the “mist nets” and bands a variety of songbirds. Chris Cold, a wildlife biologist, will be on hand, along with several live birds, for a program on raptors. Wildlife photographers Dale Bohlke and John LaMere will share their favorite images of Crex during their program called “Birds and Light.” For more information, or to reserve a spot on the Early Bird Tour, call or visit the Frriends of Crex Meadows Web site at: crexmeadows.org.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
• Richard Bong State Recreation Area, Kansasville, (262) 878-5600 - Mother's Day Wildflower Hike. Show Mom (or anyone special) a bouquet they will always remember. Bring your camera to take the memories, not the flowers, home. Trail is rough and wet. Meet at the Visitor Center but prepare to drive. 2-4 p.m.
