Merry Lea Environmental Center offers Midwest birding expedition May 12-14; Registration deadline May 1

GOSHEN, Ind. – Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College invites interested birders and would-be birders to join them for Midwest birding expedition at Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge from Friday, May 12 through Sunday, May 14.

The Muscatatuck Refuge, located south of Indianapolis, Ind., is a 7,724-acre reserve set aside to provide resting and feeding habitat for migratory waterfowl. It is nowrecognized as a “continentally important” bird area with over 280 species recorded, including bald eagles, whooping cranes, ospreys, yellow-billed cuckoos, American woodcocks and large numbers of wood ducks. The eight hiking trails are all rated easy to moderate.

The trip coincides with the May 13 Wings Over Muscatatuck Festival, which gives participants the chance to attend a wide variety of talks and hikes led by local naturalists. On Saturday morning, the Merry Lea group will have access to parts of the refuge that are normally closed to visitors.

Avid birders Lisa Zinn and Paul McAfee will accompany the group to Muscatatuck. Zinn is an environmental educator on staff at Merry Lea and McAfee is a friend of Merry Lea and director of the Little River Wetlands Project in Fort Wayne, Ind.

The group will leave from Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center, Wolf Lake, Ind., at 8 a.m. on May 12 and travel by van for the three and a half hour drive to Muscatatuck. The van will return by late afternoon Sunday. The trip is for up to 10 birders.

Cost for the expedition is $195, which includes double occupancy lodging, transportation and knowledgeable guides. The cost of meals at local restaurants will be additions. For a single room, add $50. The deadline for registration is May 1. For more information on the trip, or to register, call (260) 799-5869 or email jenniferhs@goshen.edu . To learn more about the Muscatatuck Wildlife Refuge, see www.fws.gov/midwest/muscatatuck.

Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center is an 1,150-acre nature center located in central Noble County and owned and operated by Goshen College. This natural sanctuary for northern Indiana’s plants and animals, provides environmental education for people of all ages and a setting to recreate opportunities that benefit the human body and spirit without exploiting the land. Merry Lea was created with the assistance of the Nature Conservancy and the generosity of Lee A. and Mary Jane Rieth. For more information, go to www.goshen.edu/merrylea.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.