Merry Lea hosts fourth annual NatureFest May 4-5 for children and adults

WOLF LAKE, Ind. – You’ve heard Joni Mitchell, you’ve heard the Banana Slugs but have you heard the Bufflehead Jamboree? Merry Lea’s Fourth Annual NatureFest kicks off Friday, May 4 at 7 p.m. with a joyful musical jam. Come hear Merry Lea’s tuneful environmental educators share their favorite nature songs. Then pitch a tent and prepare for a weekend outdoors.

Merry Lea’s NatureFest features hikes and seminars for all ages and interests, including the opportunity to camp overnight. “Although our state has many festivals highlighting local culture, NatureFest is unique in its focus on the plants, animals and ecosystems of northern Indiana,” said Jennifer Schrock, coordinator of public programming at Merry Lea. “Even long-time Hoosiers can learn something new about their landscape.” Past attenders have appreciated NatureFest’s quality programming, family-friendly atmosphere and good food.

New this year is a 5-K run called the Turtle Trot. The trail includes a beautiful patchwork of wetlands, woodlands and prairies. Athletes will leave the starting gate at 8 a.m. on Saturday and vie for the field guide of their choice. Turtle Trot T-shirts are included.

Sustainable living always features prominently at NatureFest. Guests may choose to tour Rieth Village, a cluster of three buildings designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s most rigorous standards. The tour highlights ground source heat pumps, passive solar design, white metal roofs and other strategies that enable Rieth Village to cover its own energy needs with wind and solar power. A second workshop offers tips for homeowners who need to work with the strengths and weaknesses of the homes they already have.

Families with children or grandchildren may choose to spend the day canoeing or taking a high-tech treasure hunt with a global positioning system. Kids have a space all to themselves where they can dig in the dirt or hunt bugs while parents take in another workshop. A number of hikes, such as Jenny Spitler’s Exploring Nature with Your Kids, are intended for families to do together. “You don’t have to live in the country or deep in the woods to help your children to appreciate nature,” Spitler says. “You can learn to treat your city block or subdivision as an ecological adventure.”

Plant lovers will find several offerings to challenge them. Saturday morning, they can trek Merry Lea’s trails with land manager Bill Minter, in search of invasive species. The hike will illustrate how invasive species can affect a native ecosystem and the strategies used to control them. If you’ve ever wondered why some plants grow in some places but not others, join Larry Yoder’s geology tour, “Our Landscape and Flora.” Yoder will describe the landforms and soils that the melting glacier left behind and explain how geological and hydrological features determine the kinds of plants found in northern Indiana. Wild edibles and wildflowers are the focus of two other workshops.

For directions, a schedule of events and registration form, see www.goshen.edu/merrylea.

Pay by the event, day or weekend package. Adult registration fees are $5 per meal or event; $15 for all of Saturday and $20 for the entire weekend, including camping overnight. Children and students pay $3 per event or meal, $10 for all of Saturday and $15 for the weekend. Family rates are $30 for Saturday and $40 for the entire weekend including camping. Scholarships are available when needed. If you have questions or want to register, call (260) 799-5869 or e-mail jenniferhs@goshen.edu.

Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center is a 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.

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.

###

Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year 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.