Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center

Closed for the 4th
2025-07-04
The Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center will be closed for the 4th. Biking and walking trails will be open.

Wonder Wednesday: Earth Elements
2025-07-02 09:00 - 15:00 (America/Chicago)
For campers ages 6 to 10. This session is all about the soil, water and air. We will learn how soil provides nutrients and the need for clean water and air. Bring your favorite rocks and we will identify them!
Our one-day, fun-filled, Wonder Wednesdays let kids explore the beautiful outdoor setting and learn about their surrounding environment. It is run by experienced instructors and the days include interpretive education, games, crafts to bring home, free play and hikes. Cost: $100 per camper, per session. To sign up, follow the link: https://square.link/WONDER WEDNESDAYS

Trails Together Hiking Club
2025-06-25 09:30 - 10:30
Trails Together is a new community hiking club! Join us at Sunfish Lake Park to explore the trails, enjoy nature and make new friends along the way.
We will meet the last Wednesday of each month at 9:30 AM in the parking lot outside the Sally Manzara Interpretative Nature Center and beautiful Sunfish Lake Park for an approximately 60 minute/3 mile hike on various terrain and trails.
Bring a friend, water and comfortable hiking shoes. All ages welcome.
Dates:
June 25th
July 30th
August 27th
September 25th
Time:
9:30am for approximately 60 minutes/3 mile hike
Location:
Sunfish Lake/Sally Manzara Interpretative Nature Center parking lot.
**Trails Together is a community hiking club, and not a program run through the Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center. We are promoting the club in order to help bring visitors to Sunfish Lake Park. If you have questions about the club, please email Melissa at tmworm@comcast.net.

2-Day Super Camp: Advanced Outdoor Adventures (Tues. & Wed., 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
2025-06-24 09:00 - 2025-06-25 15:00
For campers 9 and older, meeting Tuesday and Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Join this popular session and learn how to use a compass and orienteering skills, build a shelter, knot tying and whittling. We will set up a camp and cook outdoors too!
This summer we are piloting a 2-day version of our popular four day camps. Times are longer, and camps all meet midweek. 2-Day camps also feature offerings for older campers. To register, follow this link: https://square.link/SUPERCAMP

Little Explorers: Into the Woods - SOLD OUT!
2025-06-23 10:00 - 11:30
This Session is sold out! Register now to save your spot for the July 14 session! For campers ages 1 to 5, $8 per child (0-1 are free). Come with us to explore the woods. Keep your eyes open because you never know what you may see!
Little Explorer sessions are set up for families to come together and give the little ones their first experiences exploring nature. The first hour will be a structured activity based on the day’s theme. The last 30 minutes we encourage open play, to give families an opportunity to explore on their own. Adults must stay with their children at all times. To sign up, follow the link: https://square.link/LITTLE EXPLORERS

Tree Trek Medicine Walk with Paul Red Elk - Cancelled
2025-06-22 10:00 - 12:30
Due to a family emergency, the Tree Trek Medicine Walk scheduled for today has been cancelled.
The nature center tree trek Paul will talk about each tree medicine, and the spirituality of each of them. Reservation is needed. Fee $65.00 Class size is limited. Register before 18th the fee is $60.00. Contact: Paul traditionallakotamedicine@gmail.com

Sunfish Explorers: Outdoor Adventures (9 a.m. to noon, M-Th)
2025-06-16 09:00 - 2025-06-19 12:00
This four day camp meets from 9 a.m. to noon, Monday through Thursday, and is for campers ages 6 to 8. Join this popular session and learn how to use a compass, build a shelter, and whittle. We will set up a camp and cook outdoors too!
Our weeklong camps offer small group camps that encourage and educate the youth of tomorrow about the beauty and importance of a healthy outdoors. Each camp will have special guests such as the Dodge Nature Center and their raptors and the 3M Wizards. Camps include hikes, crafts, games and of course a little education about the outdoors! Cost: $200 per child/per session. To register your child, follow the link: https://square.link/SUNFISH EXPLORERS

Regular Buckthorn Removal Days
2025-06-14 09:30 - 12:00
Buckthorn has a tendency to hide in the early summer, so we will be focusing on other invasives for our June Buckthorn day, like garlic mustard and burdock (before it gets too big).
Thanks to a grant through the Minnesota DNR and the Minnesota Legacy Fund, we are working to get rid of all the buckthorn in Sunfish Lake Park. We contract with Stantec to clear large areas with heavy machinery, but there are some areas that can’t be easily accessed by vehicles where volunteers can participate on foot by clearing invasives or planting native species. On the second Saturday of every month, we get a crew together to go out and perform this vital work. We have the loppers and gloves, bring your energy, and we can offer you free fresh air and exercise. Work starts at 9:30, and we can find something for all ages and abilities!

Wonder Wednesday: Prairie Day
2025-06-11 09:00 - 15:00
For campers aged 7 to 10. Campers will learn the importance of the prairies and all the critters that depend on it. They will adventure through the tallgrass and along the way will learn about the important plants that make up a prairie.
Our one-day, fun-filled, Wonder Wednesdays let kids explore the beautiful outdoor setting and learn about their surrounding environment. It is run by experienced instructors and the days include interpretive education, games, crafts to bring home, free play and hikes. Cost: $100 per camper, per session. To sign up, follow the link: https://square.link/WONDER WEDNESDAYS

Little Explorers: Flower Power
2025-06-09 10:00 - 11:30
For campers aged 1 to 5, $8 per camper (0 to 1 are free). In this session we will explore the wildflowers found in the prairie and plant some to take home!
Little Explorer sessions are set up for families to come together and give the little ones their first experiences exploring nature. The first hour will be a structured activity based on the day’s theme. The last 30 minutes we encourage open play, to give families an opportunity to explore on their own. Adults must stay with their children at all times. To sign up, follow the link: https://square.link/LITTLE EXPLORERS

Family Nature Day
2025-06-07 09:00 - 13:00
Join us on June 1st for the annual Sunfish Lake Park Family Fun Day celebration! We’ll have educational activities for kids and grown-ups, from bees and other pollinators, to the geology of Sunfish Lake Park, and everything in-between. Take a stroll on our storybook trail and enjoy a beautiful summer Saturday with the family. Our friends from Carpenter Nature Center will be back with live animals (9:30 to 11:30). We’ll have coffee and lemonade on hand. This event is free and open to all!

Painting Workshop with Julie Schroeder
2025-06-03 10:00 - 14:00
We are honored to regularly host Julie Schroeder’s popular art workshops here at the SMINC. Topics vary, as do prices. For more information, or to register, contact Julie directly at brushcolour@yahoo.com
Website: Livingwatercolours.com
Phone: 651-352-5695

Invasive Plant Removal in Sunfish Lake Park
2025-05-31 09:30 - 11:30
We’re looking for volunteers! The garlic mustard, and other invasives, have sprung up in the park, and we want to get rid of them. We’ve cleared a lot of buckthorn over the last few years, but our goal is to remove and manage as much as many of the invasive plant species in the park as we can, so we’re going to focus on garlic mustard, Canada thistle and burdock. Larissa Mottl, from Stantec, will be leading this event for us. She will help you identify the plant, and show you the best way to get it out of the ground so that it doesn’t spread. This is pretty easy work, especially compared to cutting buckthorn, so you can bring the whole family. Come out, help us clean up the park, and go home with some knowledge about this invasive so you can clean up your own property!

Spring Tree Trek Guided Tour
2025-05-17 13:00 - 15:00
A cooperative effort of the Washington County Master Gardeners Tree Squad and the Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center, our Tree Trek follows a short path around the center, then along a wheelchair accessible trail into the Park, with information along the way about the various tree species that you will encounter.
Take a guided tour with local master gardeners and learn all about native trees and tree life in Sunfish Lake Park, with a special focus on what happens to those trees during the spring season. This is a free event and open to the public. For more about the SMINC’s Tree Trek, check out the Tree Trek page on our website: https://sminc-lake-elmo.org/tree-trek/

Minnesota Rocks & Agates w/ Keith Zilinski
2025-05-17 10:00 - 11:30
This fun program will focus on those beautiful rocks we have all around us. Keith Zilinski is a New Jersey native who moved to the Twin Cities in 1977. He has a minor in geology and has been a rockhound for 25 years. He’s traveled to many states, Canada, Europe, Africa and Australia in pursuit of his interest. Recently, he gave a presentation to the Scottish Gemmological Association in Edinburgh, Scotland, on the subject of Minnesota agates and Montana moss agates. Keith’s presentation will be about some of Minnesota’s most interesting rocks. Keith also will do a rock identification after the presentation.

Regular Buckthorn Removal Days (Cancelled for December)
2025-05-10 09:30 - 12:00
Thanks to a grant through the Minnesota DNR and the Minnesota Legacy Fund, we are working to get rid of all the buckthorn in Sunfish Lake Park. We contract with Stantec to clear large areas with heavy machinery, but there are some areas that can’t be easily accessed by vehicles where volunteers can participate on foot by clearing invasives or planting native species. On the second Saturday of every month, we get a crew together to go out and perform this vital work. We have the loppers and gloves, bring your energy, and we can offer you free fresh air and exercise. Work starts at 9:30, and we can find something for all ages and abilities!

Annual Spring Fundraiser
2025-05-06 18:00 - 20:30 | Lake Elmo Inn Event Center, 3712 Layton Ave., Lake Elmo, MN, 55042
We are so excited to announce this year’s fundraiser dinner will be Tuesday, May 6th at 6 p.m., at the Lake Elmo Inn Event Center. Their chef has promised that this year’s dinner will be as delicious as it was last year.
We are extremely blessed and fortunate to have award-winning nature photographer, Layne Kennedy, as our guest speaker. Layne is nationally-recognized magazine photographer shooting assignments around the globe for publications like Smithsonian, National Geographic Traveler, National Geographic Adventure, National Geographic Book Division, Outside, and Newsweek. His recent books include, Paddle North-Canoeing The Boundary Waters/Quetico Wilderness and A Hard Water World-Ice Fishing And Why We Do It, both by the prestigious Minnesota Historical Society Press.
Cost: $125 or $1,200 for a table of 8 (includes two bottles of wine)
To reserve your seat, click the “Fundraiser” tab at the top of the page, or follow the link: https://sminc-lake-elmo.org/donate/

Backpacking for Beginners w/ Joel Seipel
2025-04-26 18:00 - 19:30
If you enjoy hiking and want to broaden your horizons beyond the car campground, join
us at Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center on April 26 th at 6 p.m. as Joel Seipel
will chat about how to carry everything you need for multiple days hiking. We will
discuss the basics of backpacking and how to plan for an overnight trip, including route
selection, food prep, and gear outfitting. Whether you are brand new to the activity or
want to learn tips for extending your backcountry adventures, this presentation is for
you!
Joel grew up in Eau Galle, WI and graduated from the University of St Thomas in St.
Paul. He started backpacking during summer breaks in college and immediately fell in
love with how immersive the sport is. Hiking for several days can be intimidating at first,
but he wants to help others experience how truly wonderful and rewarding it can be.
Most recently he completed a through-hike of the John Muir Trail in 2023 and has 20
years of experience hiking all over the United States.

Edible Native Plant Gardening w/ Tim Clemens
2025-04-22 18:00 - 19:30
Feed pollinators and yourself! Join Tim Clemens of Ironwood Foraging Co. for this presentation and Q&A and learn about edible native plants that you can add to your landscaping, boulevard or pollinator plot. You’ll learn a few new recipes too!
Ironwood Foraging Co. was founded by Tim Clemens in 2017 to create profound connections between people, plants, and mushrooms. Tim is the Consulting Mycologist for Minnesota Regional Poison Center (Poison Control), Past President of the Minnesota Mycological Society, and a Minnesota Master Naturalist. Tim holds a degree in Anthropology from the University of Minnesota and certificates in Nature Education from Cornell University. You can learn more at www.ironwoodforaging.com
Cost: $45; to sign up, follow the link: https://square.link/Edible Native Plant

Earth Day Reseeding Celebration
2025-04-19 09:30 - 12:30
In the fall, we welcome people to our annual Buckthorn Removal Festival, where we try to get rid of as much of that invasive plant as we can. Those days, along with our monthly buckthorn removal days, and the grant funded work done by our partners, have really had an impact on Sunfish Lake Park. There are a lot of buckthorn free areas, and now it’s time to rebuild!
This Earth Day, we are dedicating to reseeding those cleared areas with grasses and forbs, native plants that can now reclaim those cleared areas. We’ll have the tools and seeds, we’re just looking for some volunteers to help us sow the seeds for new growth in Sunfish Lake Park.

Toddler Tuesday
2025-04-15 10:00 - 11:30
Toddler Tuesdays are a fun way to expose the little ones to outdoor and environmentally based experiences. The first hour will be exploring the theme of the day and the last 30 minutes will be a social hour, chatting with old and new friends and investigating all that the nature center has to share!
This month’s theme is “Spring Flowers.” Spring is here and we will celebrate it by planting our own seeds to grow some native plants to take home. We will learn about the importance of spring flowers for our pollinators.
Ages: 1 – 5 yrs. old
$8 per person – minimum per family group is $16 plus $8 for each additional person PER SESSION (under 1 is free)
Time:10 a.m. -11:30 a.m.
To sign up, simply follow this link: https://square.link/ToddlerTuesdays

Intro to Foraging w/ Tim Clemens
2025-04-10 18:00 - 19:30
Learn something old with Tim Clemens of Ironwood Foraging Co. in this presentation and Q&A! Foraging is the ancient human practice of finding food outside. This presentation will help begin your lifelong foraging journey. We’ll learn about native and invasive plants, how to start identifying plants and mushrooms, where to legally forage, and so much more!
Ironwood Foraging Co. was founded by Tim Clemens in 2017 to create profound connections between people, plants, and mushrooms. Tim is the Consulting Mycologist for Minnesota Regional Poison Center (Poison Control), Past President of the Minnesota Mycological Society, and a Minnesota Master Naturalist. Tim holds a degree in Anthropology from the University of Minnesota and certificates in Nature Education from Cornell University. You can learn more at www.ironwoodforaging.com
Cost: $45; follow the link to sign up: https://square.link/Foraging

Julie Schroeder Painting Workshop
2025-04-03 10:00 - 14:00

Maple Syrup Demo
2025-03-28 09:00 - 2025-03-29 15:00
We’ve got sap to boil down and we’ll be doing it at the center this weekend. Ever been curious about making maple syrup? Stop by during regular hours when our friend Paul Red Elk, and other volunteers, will be boiling down syrup. See how it’s done, ask questions and take notes for next year!

Painted Walking Stick Workshop w/ Tim Hugley
2025-03-15 10:30 - 12:00
We had so much fun last year that we are doing it again! Come on over and let your creative side thrive and leave with your very own designed walking stick.
$25/person – includes walking stick to take home.
To sign up, follow this link:
https://square.link/Walking Stick Painting

Toddler Tuesday
2025-03-11 10:00 - 11:30
Toddler Tuesdays are a fun way to expose the little ones to outdoor and environmentally based experiences. The first hour will be exploring the theme of the day and the last 30 minutes will be a social hour, chatting with old and new friends and investigating all that the nature center has to share!
The topic this month is “Talking Turtles.” Did you know what turtles do for fun? Or can you kiss or cuddle turtles? Come learn about the world of turtles and even design your own!
Ages: 1 – 5 yrs. old
$8 per person – minimum per family group is $16 plus $8 for each additional person PER SESSION (under 1 is free)
Time:10 a.m. -11:30 a.m.
To sign up, simply follow this link: https://square.link/ToddlerTuesdays

Regular Buckthorn Removal Days
2025-03-08 09:30 - 12:00

Painting Workshop w/ Julie Schroeder
2025-02-25 10:00 - 15:00

Great Backyard Bird Count at the SMINC
2025-02-17, 2025-02-16
Take part in a little citizen science! Every year, people all over the world contribute to the Great Backyard Bird Count, counting the birds they see in their yards, parks and feeders. That information is collected by the Cornell Lab and becomes valuable data in the study of bird populations, migration habits, habitats, and so much more. Stop by anytime during our regular hours from February 14 to 17 to help us count the birds around the SMINC and in and around Sunfish Lake Park. We have everything you need, we just need fifteen minutes of your time. For more information about the Great Backyard Bird Count, you can visit the official website here: https://www.birdcount.org/
