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MAY
Saturday, May 11, 2024, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, central time – Let’s Plant Some Sedges on the Prairie!
Let’s plant some sedges! We worked hard this spring to grow and transplant sedge seedlings in the Kankakee Sands greenhouse. Let’s get those seedlings out into the prairie to grow! Gloves will be provided. Sedges grow in wet places, so bring footwear that can get wet and muddy. Bring and extra change of socks and shoes for the ride home. Meet at the Kankakee Sands Nursery at 1492 W 250 N to load up and caravan to the planting location. Please RSVP! Contact Alyssa Nyberg at anyberg@tnc.org or text to 219-866-1706. Please note: If you are arriving late, please let Alyssa know because the group will be departing from the nursery and caravaning to the planting location.
Saturday, May 11, 2024, from 10 am to noon, central time – Weed Wrangle® at Prairie Border in Jasper County
This event is hosted by TNC in partnership with Jasper County Invasives Initiative. Take a spring morning to enjoy nature! Come out for this annual Weed Wrangle and assist The Nature Conservancy’s Katey Powell and the Jasper County Invasives Initiative with the removal of garlic mustard from the property. Volunteers will learn about invasive plants, how to identify garlic mustard, and how to remove it from this site or anywhere else you might find it. Invasive plants outcompete our native wildflowers and reduce habitat and food sources for wildlife. Removing invasives allows forests to regenerate ecosystems that benefit native pollinators, insects, birds, and more. No experience needed and all ages are welcome! The terrain is easy to moderate, so come prepared with good walking shoes and ready to do some moderate physical activity including bending and pulling. All supplies and instructions are provided, as is bottled water and granola bars. Please come prepared with drinking water, closed-toed working shoes, and weather-appropriate layers. Please register for this event as spots are limited. To register, visit Spring Weed Wrangle at Prairie Border. If you have questions, please contact Esme Barniskis at esme.barniskis@tnc.org.
Wednesday, May 15, 22, and 29 from 8 am to 11 am, central time – Sweet Clover Slog at Beaver Lake Nature Preserve
This event is hosted by DNR in partnership with Friends of the Sands. Join the effort to make life easier for our native prairie flora when we work to remove sweet clover from the prairie. The group will be hand pulling the sweet clover. It’s hard work, but very effective! This is a three part series in May to remove sweet clover from Beaver Lake Nature Preserve. Gloves will be provided. Contact Gus Nyberg for more information and for meeting location at nyberggus@gmail.com.
Saturday, May 25, 8:00 to 9:00 am – Yoga on the Prairie
Join Friends of the Sands and The Nature Conservancy for an all-levels adult Yoga on the Prairie series focused on the foundations of body alignment and awareness. No experience needed. Dates for the series are all Saturdays: May 25, June 22, July 20, and August 24. Come for one session or for all! Please bring your yoga mat and be ready to stretch. Your instructor is Colleen Edmonson. She has practiced yoga for the past decade and earned a yoga instruction certificate from PureLightYoga Academy. She’s been teaching yoga since 2019. Colleen has been teaching in Bourbonnais, IL for the past 14 years. Meet at the Nature Conservancy’s Seed Barn at Kankakee Sands (419 W CR 600 N, Lake Village, IN). In the event of inclement weather, Colleen will notify attendees of cancellation. Please RSVP to her at colleen.m.edmonson@gmail.com.
Saturday, May 25, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm – Native Plant Sale Pick-up
Order forms for our Native Plant Sale will be available on Monday, April 15. Order form with plant list will be available here. Turn in your order form by Friday, May 10 for pick-up of native plants on Saturday, May 25 at the Kankakee Sands Greenhouse, located at 1492 W CR 250 N, Morocco, IN. We’ll have extra plants available at the greenhouse, so stop by to see what we have! Suggested donation is $2 per plant. Contact Jeanette Jaskula (FriendsoftheSands@yahoo.com, 219-869-1004) for more information.
Saturday, May 25, 8:30 to 11:00 pm – Mothing on the Prairie
Join us for an evening of discovering moths at Kankakee Sands. We’ll have a light set up with a white sheet to attract moths. With over 2,500 moth species recorded in Indiana and names like Jeweled Tailed Slug, The Batman, Exposed Bird-dropping Moth, and The Golden Sweeper we are sure to find something unique. Children and families welcome! Don’t forget to bring a flashlight. Meet at The Nature Conservancy’s Seed Barn at 419 W CR 600 N, Lake Village, IN. Please RSVP! Contact Jeanette Jaskula (jmjaskula@yahoo.com, 219-869-1004).
JUNE
Saturday and Sunday, June 1 and 2 – Willow Slough FWA 75th Anniversary Celebration
Join in the fun at Willow Slough Fish and Wildlife Area! Activities include paddling on the lake, several guided hikes, and an evening campfire for the community. Check out the schedule. Some activities, like the paddling trips, require registration.
Wednesday, June 5, 2024, from 8 am to 11 am, central time – A Historic Invasive Species Pull, part 1 of 4
It has been 68 years since Elvis sang Hound Dog live on TV for the first time. During this workday, the participants will be pulling sweet clover which seems to think that it is high class, and which has hound dogged its way into the prairie. But, it ain’t no friend of ours, and so we will be hand pulling the biennial plants to make way for the native plants to establish. Gloves will be provided. This event is hosted by DNR in partnership with Friends of the Sands. Contact Gus Nyberg for more information and for meeting location at nyberggus@gmail.com.
Tuesday, June 11, 2024, from 5 pm to 6:30 pm, central time – Friends of the Sands Garden Care at the Fairgrounds. Friends of the Sands tends a native wildflower display garden at the Newton County Fairgrounds. Come help prep the beds and tidy up before the fair starts on July 11th. Meet at the Newton County Fairgrounds at 12189 Punkin Vine Rd. in Kentland, IN. Please RSVP. Contact Alyssa Nyberg, anyberg@tnc.org or 219-866-1706, for more information and to RSVP.
Wednesday, June 12, 2024, from 8 am to 11 am, central time – A Historic Invasive Species Pull, part 2 of 4.
37 years ago, Reagan demanded that the Soviets “Tear down this wall”. During this workday, the group will continue its efforts to tear down the wall of sweet clover at Beaver Lake Prairie to bring more peace and prosperity to native plants and animals. Gloves will be provided. This event is hosted by DNR in partnership with Friends of the Sands. Contact Gus Nyberg for more information and for meeting location at nyberggus@gmail.com.
Saturday, June 15, 8:30 to 10:30 am central time – Prairie Birding Tour
Join two local birders, Barb Lucas and Tisha Tolle, for a birding tour of Kankakee Sands. They’ll search for the secretive grasshopper sparrow, state-endangered Henslow’s sparrow, Blue Grosbeak, and more. Whether you’re a seasoned birder or just getting started, this event will introduce you to the grassland birds of Kankakee Sands. Please bring binoculars. Meeting location TBD. Check back here for updates. Please RSVP by contacting Barb Lucas (blucas1123@gmail.com).
Wednesday, June 19, 2024, from 8 am to 11 am, central time – A Historic Invasive Species Pull, part 3 of 4
Make history by joining us on this last spring workday of the year at Beaver Lake Prairie and the second longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. The group will continue to remove non-native invasive sweet clover plants from the prairie and reclaim ground for native species. Gloves will be provided. This event is hosted by DNR in partnership with Friends of the Sands. Contact Gus Nyberg for more information and for meeting location at nyberggus@gmail.com.
Friday, June 21st, from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, central time – Pollinator Picnic at Prairie Border Nature Preserve
This event is hosted by the Jasper County Invasives Initiative. Join the Jasper County Invasives Initiative and TNC for an educational walk with Hannah Kernan from Purdue University to find pollinators along the Prairie Border trail. Following the walk there will be a picnic with food provided by Jasper County SWCD. The mowed grass trail is about 1.6 miles long and is rated as easy. Youth and families are encouraged to attend. No experience needed, everyone is welcome to participate. Event hosts request that participants bring an outdoor chair for sitting in during the picnic, sunscreen and/or hat and long sleeved shirt to protect yourself from the sun, and drinking water. Dogs are asked to stay at home for this event. Prairie Border Nature Preserve is located at 11713 N 400 E, Wheatfield, IN. Please RSVP! For more information and to RSVP, contact the Jasper County Soil and Water Office at 219-866-8008 ext. 123 by June 18.
Saturday, June 22, 8:00 to 9:00 am – Yoga on the Prairie
Join Friends of the Sands and The Nature Conservancy for an all-levels adult Yoga on the Prairie series focused on the foundations of body alignment and awareness. No experience needed. Dates for the series are all Saturdays: May 25, June 22, July 20, and August 24. Come for one session or for all! Please bring your yoga mat and be ready to stretch. Your instructor is Colleen Edmonson. She has practiced yoga for the past decade and earned a yoga instruction certificate from PureLightYoga Academy. She’s been teaching yoga since 2019. Colleen has been teaching in Bourbonnais, IL for the past 14 years. Meet at the Nature Conservancy’s Seed Barn at Kankakee Sands (419 W CR 600 N, Lake Village, IN). In the event of inclement weather, Colleen will notify attendees of cancellation. Please RSVP to her at colleen.m.edmonson@gmail.com.
Wednesday, June 26, 2024, from 8 am to 11 am, central time – A Historic Invasive Species Pull, part 4 of 4. Make history by joining this first summer workday of the year at Beaver Lake Prairie. It’s an opportunity for you to “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country”, as John F Kennedy said back in 1961. Come on out and lend your time to the invasive species pulling effort. Gloves will be provided. This is event is hosted by DNR in partnership with Friends of the Sands. Contact Gus Nyberg for more information and for meeting location at nyberggus@gmail.com.
Saturday, June 29, 2024, from 10 am to noon, central time – Seed Harvest Workday,
This event is hosted by TNC in partnership with Friends of the Sands. Join us for a prairie adventure of harvesting seed from our Kankakee Sands Prairie Plantings. Come prepared for a walk through an established prairie, with many plants, insects, and wildlife to admire as we harvest the seed for our upcoming prairie planting at Kankakee Sands this winter.
No experience necessary. We will be walking on uneven surfaces, bending, stooping and carrying 10 pound bags of seed back to the staging area, which means that we will be tired at the end of this workday for sure! Please RSVP to Alyssa Nyberg at anyberg@tnc.org or 219-866-1706.
Saturday, June 29, 2024, from 9 am to noon, central time – Wetland Planting Days at Ivanhoe Dune and Swale in Lake County, Indiana
This event is hosted by The Nature Conservancy. The goal for the fun day together is to plant hundreds of tiny native wetland plant species and increase wetland habitat for all the plants, animals and insects that depend upon it. No experience needed and all tools/supplies provided. Youth and families are very welcome! The event will be hosted at Ivanhoe Dune & Swale, 101 Hobart St, Gary, IN 46406. To learn more about the event and to register, go to: Ivanhoe Planting Days. For more information, contact Dave Drogos at david.drogos@TNC.ORG.
JULY
Friday, July 19, 8:30 pm to 11:00 pm – Moth Ball!
We’re celebrating National Moth Week with a Moth Ball! We’ll use lights at night to attract moths to a white sheet. Gather around the sheet with us to gaze at just a few of the 1,400 moth species that have been seen at Kankakee Sands. In year’s past, we’ve seen giant Polyphemus Moths, Luna Moths, and several species of sphinx moths. This is an excellent program for families and children. Bring a flashlight. Meet at The Nature Conservancy’s Seed Barn at 419 W CR 600 N, Lake Village, IN. Contact Jeanette Jaskula (jmjaskula@yahoo.com, 219-869-1004) to RSVP.
Saturday, July 20, 8:00 to 9:00 am – Yoga on the Prairie
Join Friends of the Sands and The Nature Conservancy for an all-levels adult Yoga on the Prairie series focused on the foundations of body alignment and awareness. No experience needed. Dates for the series are all Saturdays: May 25, June 22, July 20, and August 24. Come for one session or for all! Please bring your yoga mat and be ready to stretch. Your instructor is Colleen Edmonson. She has practiced yoga for the past decade and earned a yoga instruction certificate from PureLightYoga Academy. She’s been teaching yoga since 2019. Colleen has been teaching in Bourbonnais, IL for the past 14 years. Meet at the Nature Conservancy’s Seed Barn at Kankakee Sands (419 W CR 600 N, Lake Village, IN). In the event of inclement weather, Colleen will notify attendees of cancellation. Please RSVP to her at colleen.m.edmonson@gmail.com.
Saturday, July 27, 9:00 am to noon – Weed Wrangles® at Conrad Station Savanna
This is the final workday in a series of three action-packed Weed Wrangles® at Conrad Station Savanna. On this workday, the group will follow-up with the herbicide treatment of invasive honeysuckle that began last November. We’ll look for honeysuckle resprouts and treat them again. The group will chat about how to identify honeysuckle, techniques for removal, as well as discuss the broader restoration goals for the savanna at Conrad Station. Participants should bring leather gloves, sturdy shoes, and snacks and water. This is a great event for children and families! Parking and meeting location is at the Conrad Station Savanna trailhead located on CR 725 N, with a 1/4 mile walk to the restoration site. Please email Esme Barniskis at EsmeBarniskis@tnc.org to register for the event. This event is hosted by the Newton County Nature Partnership, in partnership with Newton County Soil and Water, The Nature Conservancy, and Friends of the Sands.
AUGUST
Saturday, August 24, 8:00 to 9:00 am – Yoga on the Prairie
Join Friends of the Sands and The Nature Conservancy for an all-levels adult Yoga on the Prairie series focused on the foundations of body alignment and awareness. No experience needed. Dates for the series are all Saturdays: May 25, June 22, July 20, and August 24. Come for one session or for all! Please bring your yoga mat and be ready to stretch. Your instructor is Colleen Edmonson. She has practiced yoga for the past decade and earned a yoga instruction certificate from PureLightYoga Academy. She’s been teaching yoga since 2019. Colleen has been teaching in Bourbonnais, IL for the past 14 years. Meet at the Nature Conservancy’s Seed Barn at Kankakee Sands (419 W CR 600 N, Lake Village, IN). In the event of inclement weather, Colleen will notify attendees of cancellation. Please RSVP to her at colleen.m.edmonson@gmail.com.
Friends of the Sands 