So. Indiana Nature Preserve Celebrates 50th Anniversary with FREE Birthday Bash
When you turn 50 years old, a one-day party just may not be enough - an occasion this momentous feels more like a four-day kind of celebration to me. One such party is happening this Labor Day weekend in Evansville, and you are invited.
It was back in September of 1972 when the Wesselman Nature Society was first founded on the east side of Evansville. Half a century later, what we now know as Wesselman Woods still has the same mission - "to preserve and protect Wesselman Woods and Howell Wetlands for future generations through conservation, education, research, and to provide equal access to nature."
Bet You Didn't Know This Fun Fact
When you hear "Wesselman Woods" and "nature preserve" it's easy to assume we're talking about a big ol' space somewhere out in the county, but that is not the case at all. I think what makes Wesselman Woods so neat is the fact that it is such a beautiful, wooded space - almost like another world - in the middle of the city. If fact, according to WesselmanWoods.org, "This plot of old-growth forest is the largest tract of virgin, old-growth forest within any city limits in the United States. As an Indiana Nature Preserve and National Natural Landmark, Wesselman Woods is a surviving remnant of Southern Indiana’s original forests."
Let's Party!
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Wesselman Woods is throwing a Birthday Bash from September 1-4, and it is FREE and open to everyone (during normal business hours). Guests are invited to do as much or as little as they want to - and there will be plenty of things to choose from, including scheduled educational activities, exploring the five-acre Welborn Baptist Foundation Nature Playscape and Bernhardt Family Bird Sanctuary, or walking along over four miles of trails within the largest urban old-growth forest in America.
Schedule for Thursday, September 1st
- Open from 9am-5pm
- 10am - “Wesselman Woods Day” Proclamation
- 11am - Animal Encounter
- 2pm - Animal Encounter
Schedule for Friday, September 2nd
- Open from 9am-5pm
- 9am-10am - Little Eco Scholars program for ages 5 and under
- 11am - Animal Encounter
- 2pm - Animal Encounter
Schedule for Saturday, September 3rd
- Open from 9am-5pm
- 9am - Guided History Hike
- 10am - Guided History Hike
- 11am - Animal Encounter
- 3pm - Guided History Hike
Schedule for Sunday, September 4th
- Open from 12n-5pm
- 2pm - Animal Encounter
- 3pm - Guided History Hike
Evansville Neighborhood Blooming with Nature Scenes
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