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Visitor Center Hours:
Monday-Friday 8-5,
Saturdays 9-5, Sundays and Holidays 1-5
Trails
open every day from dawn to dark
2012:
May |
June |
July |
August
September |
October |
November |
December
Download a Registration
Form to sign up for fee-related programs |
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October 2012 |
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1/1/12-12/31/12
Member: $7
Non-member: $10
Ages: 9+ |
IP12-01
Walk
100 Miles
Register
at the Visitor Center
to walk 100 miles on
Chippewa Nature Center Trails
and you will receive a logbook in which to
keep track of the dates and mileage you have
traveled. To
achieve your goal, travel along any of the
nature center trails by walking, skiing or
snowshoeing. Take in the beautiful views along
the Pine and Chippewa Rivers, investigate the
fields, forests and wetlands, see how things
change throughout the seasons, look for and
enjoy the bountiful wildlife and join the many
guided hikes throughout the year.
Travel
100, 200 or 500 miles in 2012 and receive a
t-shirt to mark your achievement!
Three additional prizes will be awarded to the
three people who have logged the most miles.
Registration:
989-631-0830 or scheduler@chippewanaturecenter.org |
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10/3/12
Wed
9:30-11:30 am
Free Admission
All
Ages, under 18
w/adult |
Mushroom Hike
There is more to mushrooms than what meets the eye, or
the fry pan. Join Naturalist Karen Breternitz to learn
how fungi rule the world! We will also debunk or confirm
some common wives’ tales about eating mushrooms, and try
to find some choice edible mushrooms and learn how to
identify them. Collecting is not allowed on nature
center property but we can try to get other participants
to tell us where they hunt! Meet at the Visitor Center. |
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10/4/12 Thurs
5:30-7 pm
Free Admission
Ages: 9+, under 18
w/adult |
Big Trees at LFC Riverview Natural Area
Join Phil Stephens from Chippewa Nature Center and Elan
Lipschitz from the Little Forks Conservancy (LFC) to
search for big trees at LFC’s Riverview Natural Area
along the Tittabawassee River. Once we identify a big
tree, we will measure its diameter for use in LFC’s
plant inventory. The hike will also acquaint you with
this wonderful new outdoor Midland resource. Meet Phil
at Riverview’s parking lot on Wheeler Road. The walk
will be canceled in the event of significant rain or
thunderstorm. If you have questions, call Phil at
631-0830.
Directions to Riverview Natural Area From Downtown
Midland:
Head west on M-20 for 4.2 miles. Turn right onto N.
Homer Rd. Follow Homer Rd for 2 miles. Take the curve
onto E. Wheeler Rd. Follow E. Wheeler Rd. for .25 miles.
The parking lot is on the right.
Directions to Riverview Natural Area From Chippewa
Nature Center:
Head south on S. Badour Rd. Turn right onto E. Pine
River Rd and follow for .9 miles. Stay straight to go
onto E. Prairie Rd. Follow E. Prairie Rd. until you
reach S. Homer Rd. Turn right. Follow Homer Rd until it
curves into E. Wheeler Rd. Follow E. Wheeler Rd. for .25
miles. The parking lot is on the right. |
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10/4/12 Thurs
7 pm
Free Admission
All
Ages |
Midland Hike and Paddle Club
Join MHPC for their monthly meeting. |
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10/4/12 Thurs
9-10 am &
10:30-11:30 am
Free Admission
Ages: 3-5
w/adult |
Preschool Story Hour: A
Log's Life
Come spend an hour learning about nature! The hour will
include a story and may include songs, art, rhymes and
other age-appropriate activities. |
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10/6/12
Sat
9 am-5 pm
Registration Deadline:
9/29/12
Member: $28
Non-member: $35
Ages: 18+ |
F12-32 All Day Trippin' Down the Chippewa
Most of our paddle trips on the Chippewa River are just
a couple of hours, but this time out, we’re going to
make a whole day of it! We’ll put in at Magruder Road
and paddle all the way to our main canoe launch (just
past the Pine/Chippewa confluence), with a lunch break
at Midland County's Manitou Park and another rest stop
at CNC's Chippewa River Access Site (near Meridian
Road). (Facilities are not exciting at either place –
both have pit toilets.) The Magruder Road site is not an
easy put-in site – a steep bank with a healthy poison
ivy population, but once you’re in, it’s a beautiful
stretch of river! At Manitou Park, the trail up to the
restrooms and picnic area is quite steep, so we’ll just
tie our boats up at the bank. In the past, this trip was
an "adventure for women only", but this time we're
opening it up to all genders, so gentlemen, pack your
lunches! Participants should dress for changing weather
conditions through the day, and bring beverages/sack
lunch/snacks. |
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10/6/12
Sat
2-4 pm
Free Admission
All
Ages, under 18
w/adult |
Falling Leaves Walk
Autumn days will be changing the landscape from all
green to multi-colored. Learn to identify a few native
trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants by comparing leaf
shapes, edges and vein patterns. Other clues like
branching patterns and bark are also useful.
Meet Educator Jeanne Henderson at the River Point
trailhead at the end of Hubert Road. Wear
comfortable shoes. All ages welcome, but most
appropriate for ages 12 and up. |
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10/6/12
Sat
1-2:30 pm
Free Admission
Ages: 5-9 w/adult |
Nature for Youth: Life on an 1870s Farm
This program is designed to help kids develop a
connection to the natural world through fun, hands-on
activities including experiment stations, games, crafts,
and more. Each session is held on the first Saturday of
the month at the Visitor Center. |
|
10/6/12
Sat
9-10 am &
10:30-11:30 am
Free Admission
Ages: 3-5 w/adult |
Preschool Story Hour: A
Log's Life
Come spend an hour learning about nature! The hour will
include a story and may include songs, art, rhymes and
other age-appropriate activities. |
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10/9/12
Tues
6-7 pm
Free Admission
All
Ages, under 18
w/adult |
Walking in the Rain
If you have never walked in the woods when it’s raining
you are missing out on total sensory overload. The smell
is fantastically fresh and the colors pop with the
mosses turning the greenest green and the tree trunks
appearing stark black. Come out and enjoy the rain on
this slow easy hike with Naturalist, Karen Breternitz.
If it doesn’t rain we will still hike but we will not
enjoy it as much. Meet at the pavilion at the end of the
Homestead Road. |
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10/10/12
Wed
5-7 pm
Registration Deadline:
10/5/12
Member: $15
Non-member: $22
Ages: 15+, under 18
w/adult |
F12-33 Fall Color Kayak Trip
Join Kyle Bagnall in an autumn kayak trip down the
Chippewa River. As the sun sets early, we'll paddle from
CNC to Midland and ride back together in our van. If
weather or water conditions are not favorable, this trip
will be canceled (determined the afternoon of the trip
at CNC's discretion) and participants will be refunded. |
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10/12/12
Fri
8-11 am
Free Admission
Ages: 9+, under 18
w/adult |
Birds & Bagels
This is an all-in-one experience -- late-migrant bird
species, refreshments following the hike, AND beautiful
fall colors! Join Senior Naturalist Janea Little for
over two hours of birdwatching, then enjoy refreshments
in the Visitor Center while we go over a checklist of
the birds we saw and heard. Birders of all experience
levels are welcome. Loaner binoculars are available.
Generously sponsored by Big Apple Bagels. |
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10/12/12
Fri
9-10 am &
10:30-11:30 am
Free Admission
Ages: 6 mos-2 yrs
w/adult |
Wee Stroll
This program is designed for parents to take a guided
walk with their child, learn about the outdoors and
learn ways to introduce children to the natural world
around them. |
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10/13/12
Sat
2-3:30 pm
Free Admission
All Ages, under 18
w/adult |
Falling Leaves Walk
Join Naturalist Karen Breternitz for this exploration
hike at the Nature Center. We will look for galls on
fallen leaves, mushrooms, flowers on late blooming
plants and anything else of interest along the way. Meet
at the Visitor Center. |
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10/16/12 Tues
6-7 pm
Free Admission
All
Ages |
Ephraim Williams, Pioneer Fur Trader
Ephraim Williams arrived at "The Forks" of the
Tittabawassee and Chippewa Rivers in 1828 to reopen a
trading post as an agent of the American Fur Company.
For the next twelve years, Ephraim and his brothers were
leading traders in the Saginaw Valley at the very end of
the fur trading era. Step back in time as Kyle Bagnall,
Manager of Historical Programs, presents a costumed,
first-person program based on the life of Ephraim
Williams. You'll hear tales of this renowned pioneer
family as they were caught up in the War of 1812,
established a farm in an unbroken forest, traded with
Native Americans and built the first sawmill in the
Saginaw Valley. |
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10/18/12 Thurs
9-10 am &
10:30-11:30 am
Free Admission
Ages: 3-5
w/adult |
Preschool Story Hour: Discover the Seasons
Come spend an hour learning about nature! The hour will
include a story and may include songs, art, rhymes and
other age-appropriate activities. |
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10/20/12
Sat
9:30 am-12 pm
Registration Deadline:
10/11/12
Member: $15
Non-member: $22
Ages: 15+, under 18
w/adult |
W12-11 Where Am I and Where Am I Going? A GPS, Compass & Map
Primer
Whether you are trying to find your way to a geocache or
a mountain lake, this class will introduce you to tools
and techniques to help you find your way. GPS, compass
and map skills will be introduced, along with problems
inherent in each. If you have your own GPS and/or
compass, bring it with you (and your GPS’s manual).
Otherwise, the Nature Center has a few loaners that are
available during the class, which will have indoor and
outdoor components. Instructor Phil Stephens has used a
variety of navigational paraphernalia for his Isle
Royale research, backcountry hiking, and service with
Midland Country Search and Rescue. |
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10/21/12
Sun
1:30-4:30 pm
Free Admission
All
Ages |
Autumn at the Wigwam
Ojibwa Indians lived seasonally near the Pine River for
hundreds of years. Join Kyle Bagnall, Manager of
Historical Programs, for an afternoon at the wigwam
(near the Visitor Center) to explore how these people
used local plants and animals to thrive in this
environment. During the program, visitors can try skills
such as fire by friction and cordage making and learn
about autumn wild edibles. |
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10/24/12
Wed
9 am-2 pm
Free Admission
All
Ages |
Homestead Quilters
Pick up a needle and learn this beautiful craft with the
Quilters at their regular monthly meeting. |
|
10/24/12
Wed
6-9 pm
Registration Deadline:
10/15/12
Member: $55
Non-member: $65
Ages: 18+ |
W12-12 Making & Understanding Stone Tools
Join guest instructor, Tom Hahnenberg, for this hands-on
workshop on the ageless process of systematically
turning stone (flint), into functional tools. Also known
as flintknapping, the prime focus of the workshop will
be to teach students how to identify appropriate stone
for flintknapping and the knowledge to work that stone
into practical, useable tools that can perform a
multitude of subsistence tasks. The ability to make
long, thin spear points and arrowheads takes years of
practice, but most individuals can learn how to make
functional tools in the time span of this session. The
session will lay the groundwork, however, for anyone
wishing to pursue the long range acquisition of advanced
flintknapping skills. Participants will take home a
solid understanding of the materials and techniques
required for crafting flint into tools, as well as your
own flintknapping tool kit. This program will be held at
our Nature Study Building. |
|
10/27/12
Sat
1-4 pm
Free Admission
All
Ages |
Jolly Hammers and Strings Dulcimer Club
Stop in to enjoy the toe-tapping music of the Jolly
Hammers & Strings Dulcimer Club. Or, if you play a folk
instrument (guitar, banjo, fiddle, dulcimer, etc.),
bring it along and join in! |
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10/27/12
Sat
6-8:30 pm
Free Admission
All
Ages |
Nature At Night
Bring the whole family and explore Nature at Night.
Games, activities, and crafts will help kids of all ages
learn about nocturnal mammals and the night sky. A jack
o’ lantern trail, storytelling by the light of the fire,
face painting, night songs, and a puppet show make this
evening fun for everyone. Kids who dress in a
nature-themed costume will receive a treat (while
supplies last). Dress in layers as activities will be
both indoors and out. This free event is sure to be a
fun evening for the kid in all of us! |
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2012:
May |
June |
July |
August
September |
October |
November |
December
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