There's lots of great opportunities in April to get outdoors to learn something new and hike as well! I've listed a few events I've come across. Click on the event title to find a link to the event or organization.
Be sure to check often with local hiking groups, universities, naturalist-interest groups, nature conservancies, nature centers and their Friends groups, state parks, US Fish and Wildlife centers and others in your area to see what is on offer to help you understand the natural world around you better.
- Whitewater State Park (MN)
Join us for a journey down that old country road into the Whitewater Wildlife Management Area. We'll be searching for signs of spring while looking for hints of the past. This 2.6 mile hike will take us into the Whitewater WMA, a large swath of public land just down the road from the park. This often-unexplored area provides opportunities for years of new discoveries and adventures. Reservations are required. Email Jeremy.darst@state.mn.us or call 507-312-2301. Sponsor: Whitewater State Park
Guided Bird Walk
- Saturday April 6 9:00am
Walk through a mixed habitat of prairie and woodland looking for resident birds that specialize in these areas. The trail is mowed grass and is well maintained. Bring your binoculars or borrow some from the park office. No need to register. If you have any questions, email janetmalotky@gmail.com. This event is free. Vehicles entering the park are required to have a State Park vehicle permit. Permits are $7 per day or $35 for an annual sticker. Meet at the Frontenac State Park campground shower building at 9:00 AM. Sponsor: Frontenac State Park in partnership with the Frontenac State Park Association
- Wildcat Mountain State Park (WI)
Baby animals are one of the cutest signs of spring. But should we approach them or leave them alone?Join us at Wildcat Mountain as we celebrate Keep Wildlife Wild week! Explore the best ways to interact with baby wildlife and how to help them. Take a short hike and see how many animals you can spot. Contact Emily.Alf@wisconsin.gov or call 608-337-4775 Sponsor: Wildcat Mountain State Park
- Monday, April 8 1:00 - 3:00 pm
- Winona State University
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| Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay |
WSU's Dr. Jennifer Anderson writes:
- The Second “Great American Eclipse” will occur on April 8th this year and so we’re having an Eclipse Party to view this event SAFELY: Telescopes with proper solar filters, telescopes that project the Sun, and various pinhole cameras.
- From 12:30 – 3:30 pm, my students, colleagues, and I will have a number of SAFE ways to view the eclipse right in the middle of Winona State University’s Main Campus. The eclipse begins at 12:49 pm when the Moon’s disk first starts covering the disk of the Sun and ends at 3:17 pm when the last of the Moon’s disk moves off of the Sun. The Sun will be 80% covered at 2:04 pm as seen from right here in Winona!
- Plan to join us on campus that day between 1-3 pm to safely view the eclipse. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, we will have activities in the Science Lab Center atrium and be live-streaming the event. If you aren’t able to be on campus OR you have friends in other parts of the US who would like information about the eclipse, please read on for resources that I have found really useful about this upcoming astronomical event!
And REMEMBER: Never look directly at the Sun or a Solar Eclipse at any time*, especially through binoculars or telescopes, UNLESS you KNOW FOR A FACT that you are using a device that safely blocks the vast majority of sunlight AND has been correctly set up by a knowledgeable and reliable person.
- The April 8th eclipse is viewable from anywhere in the continental United States and much of Canada and Mexico. There is a narrow band that runs from Mexico/Texas, up through southern Illinois and Indiana, across northern New York state, and over through northern Maine within which a person will experience a Total Solar Eclipse where the Moon will entirely cover the disk of the Sun.
- However, even if you are not within this band, you will get to see a Partial Solar Eclipse where the Moon’s disk covers part of the Sun’s disk. To figure out what the eclipse will look like from your location in North America on April 8th, go to this website: https://www.timeanddate.com/
eclipse/map/2024-april-8?n= 4554. It will bring you to the Winona, MN information page, but you can enter any city in North America and it will tell you exactly how much of the Sun will be covered and what time everything happens. Send this link along to friends across our continent!! - Here is NASA’s website about the 2024 Solar Eclipse: https://science.nasa.gov/
eclipses/
HOW can I view the eclipse SAFELY?
- Here is NASA’s website about eclipse safety: https://science.nasa.gov/
eclipses/safety/ READ ME!! - The ABSOLUTELY BEST WAY to view an eclipse is to USE A KITCHEN COLANDER!! This is my hands-down favorite option for any solar eclipse. Take your colander outside, hold it in front of you so the Sun passes through it and makes tiny little circles on the ground – except PSYCH!! they aren’t circles, they are hundreds of tiny eclipsed Suns! The link above has an image of this. April 8th – Bring your Colander to Work Day!!
- Solar Eclipse Glasses ARE NOT Sunglasses!!! Solar eclipses glasses are thousands of times darker than normal sunglasses. If you have solar eclipse glasses on, you cannot see anything, but don’t just trust the darkness. Make sure that any glasses you order/use comply with the ISO 12312-2 international standard. If you don’t know whether they do, I highly recommend you not use those glasses and enjoy your colander instead.
- For a fun project, you can build a solar eclipse projector with a large box and some simple household items. Here are some good instructions for how to do that:
Garlic Mustard Pulling Project
- Saturday April 13 noon-3pm
Join us on a crisp spring hike to points unknown. Whitewater has a few spectacular views that have remained hidden from even the most seasoned visitor. During this hike we will leave the trails behind us, as we venture out into a little used part of the park. No dogs allowed. Distance 3.2 Miles, Elev. Gain 350ft. Reservations are required. Email Jeremy.darst@state.mn.us or call 507-312-2301. Sponsor: Whitewater State Park
Wilderness Weekends with Emily
- Saturday April 13 9:30-10:30am
Bring along friends and family to join park staff and the Friends of Wildcat Mountain State Park for this fun annual stewardship event and celebration of Earth Month. Participate in individual and family-friendly activities that help enhance the Wildcat Mountain State Park. Activities may include tree planting, campground and trail clean up, invasive species removal, picnic table maintenance and litter clean-up. Bring sturdy footwear, and some work gloves. Refreshments will be provided by the Friends of Wildcat Mountain State Park. After volunteering, we encourage you to stay and recreate in the park for the afternoon! Questions? Contact Andrew.Haffele@wisconsin.gov or call 608 337-47775. Sponsor: Wildcat Mountain State Park.
- online
- Saturday, Aril 27 10 am-noon
We regularly use prescribed fire at the park to keep our prairies and forests healthy, as fire is crucial in maintaining our ecosystem?s stability and diversity. Have you ever wanted to know why this is the case? Have you ever wondered what makes a prescribed fire different from a wildfire? Come get these and any other burning questions you may have answered at Frontenac State Park on the April Free Park Day! Join a park ranger on a guided hike around the prairie loop to learn about fire?s role in resource management at Frontenac State Park. We will be hiking in an area of the park where prescribed fire has been recently used to see first-hand how it changes these landscapes. The hike will last about an hour and a half and include uneven terrain. It is recommended to bring water, sunscreen, and bug spray, if preferred. Sturdy and comfortable shoe wear is also recommended. Severe weather or other factors may cause this event to be changed or canceled. For updates, or if you have questions, call Frontenac State Park at 651-299-3000. Sponsor: Frontenac State Park (MN)
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