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Celebrate spring with Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College at their annual Nature Fest. This weekend festival will feature both family-friendly activities and science investigations on May 10 and 11 at Merry Lea.
Nature Fest will bring together the local community to encourage individuals and families to explore the outdoors and engage with the biodiversity at Merry Lea in fun, interactive ways. People of all ages are welcome to join in family-oriented activities and BioBlitz activities (science investigations).
Friday evening, May 10 from 7 – 10 p.m. will include canoeing, campfires and a BioBlitz activity using light-lures and blacklights. Canoe with a partner and then relax by the campfire while making s’mores. All equipment is provided, including s’mores fixings, while supplies last.
Saturday, May 11 from 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. will feature two different tracks that participants may engage in: family and BioBlitz (science) activities.
Family activities include canoeing, guided hikes, nature crafts, gardening workshops, birding, and more. A BioBlitz is an event where teams of volunteers record as many species as possible in a given area over a short period of time for research. These activities will include a bird hike, foraging & wild edible hike, dipping for macroinvertebrates and investigating insects at our nature preserve. These BioBlitz events will occur concurrently with the family-oriented events.
Drop in for just some of these activities or join for all of them! Activities vary as either guided, self-guided or drop-in events. Guests are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy on Saturday.
All Nature Fest activities will take place or start at the Merry Lea Farmstead site (2152 S 425 W, Albion, IN 46701). Registration is not required. To see the full schedule and more details, please visit goshen.edu/merrylea/naturefest.
Merry Lea is located just south of Wolf Lake, Ind., halfway between Goshen and Fort Wayne. Directions and updates are available at goshen.edu/merrylea or the Merry Lea Facebook page. For questions regarding Merry Lea’s hours or new developments, contact merrylea@goshen.edu or (260) 799-5869.

About Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center

Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College is an 1,189-acre nature preserve in north central Indiana, midway between Fort Wayne and Goshen. The center is known for its ecological diversity, its quality environmental education and its efforts in the area of sustainable building and land restoration. While prairies and woodlands are also part of the landscape, the diverse wetlands at Merry Lea are its greatest treasure. To learn more, see Merry Lea’s website at www.goshen.edu/merrylea.