Bonus spring adventures: Wander in and wonder about wild things. Have a beer, too.
Here are some extra wild wanderings that didn't fit in this week's Outdoor Adventures column.
Consider it your springtime bonus. So, maybe your employer wasn't so generous to you this year, but Mother Nature is. She always is.
Love wildflowers
Join the Harbor Country Hikers for a hike of more than two miles at 1 p.m. April 13 to seek spring woodland wildflowers at Love Creek County Park, 9292 Huckleberry Road, Berrien Center. Park naturalist Derek Pelc will lead this search for blooming species.
Camino on river trail
Join local veterans and devotees of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage on a monthly walk from 2:30 to 5 p.m. April 14 at South Bend’s Howard Park, where the group will hike the paved river trail eastward and back. There will be a “shell ceremony” for first-time departing pilgrims. The group will gather afterwards for refreshments at a local restaurant.
Birds and the garden
Bird watching expert and Indiana Dunes-area resident Lynea Hinchman will speak about local birds April 16 at a meeting of the River Valley Garden Club. The meeting will start at 1 p.m. at the Harbert Community Church at the corner of Three Oaks and Harbert roads in Sawyer. Hinchman’s presentation will begin at 2 p.m. The group is planning its annual plant sale for May 18. Based in southwest Michigan, the club also has field trips, a member’s plant auction, hands-on workshops and service projects. For more information, contact President Elizabeth Palulis at 269-362-4564 or evpalulis@yahoo.com or visit rivervalleygardenclub.org.
Nature treks with literature
The nonprofit Indiana Humanities is back with a statewide series of outdoor adventures to connect with Hoosier literature that nature inspired. The Campfires series, each of which features a discussion with a naturalist/scholar, starts from 4 to 6 p.m. April 20 with a visit to Wing Haven Nature Preserve in Angola, Ind.
In each case, the naturalist/scholar will lead the group on a trek or float, stopping along the way to read and talk about short literary passages on nature. The trips often finish with drinks, snacks and discussion around a campfire.
The Wing Haven hike on relatively flat earthen trails will be led by Erica Anderson-Senter, who is a naturalist with the ACRES Land Trust, which owns the preserve, and is a member of a project to gather scientific and literary observations there. The group will read some of her writings. Cost is $20, which includes a meal and beer. Reserve a spot and learn more at https://indianahumanities.org/program/campfires.
Here are the other Indiana destinations in the series; two are marked free, though you’ll still need to pay park entrance: April 27 at Buckner Cave in Bloomington, May 18 at Falls of the Ohio State Park in Clarksville, July 13 at Chellberg Farmhouse/Indiana Dunes National Park (free), July 20 at Miller Woods/Indiana Dunes National Park (free), Aug. 17 at Wabashiki Fish and Wildlife Area in Terre Haute and Sept. 14 at Munsee Woods in Selma.
Granger Paths run/walk to support more trails
You can join Granger Paths’ annual 5K and one-mile Family Fun Run/Walk as it steps off at 9:30 a.m. April 27 at Northpoint Elementary School to benefit efforts to extend the area’s existing trails.
Friends of Granger Paths say that money raised at this year’s race will be used to complete a trail connecting the Fountain Blue neighborhood to Northpoint Elementary School, improving the safety of students as they go to and from school.
In its 16th year, the event typically draws more than 400 participants of all ages. Early registration, at $30 per person for the 5K and $10 for the one-mile walk, runs through April 25, after which the fees increase. Register and find details at grangerpaths.org.
Find columnist Joseph Dits on Facebook at SBTOutdoorAdventures or 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Hike with wildflowers nature and literature with Indiana Humanities
