Toddler Tuesday
2024-10-22 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Chicago)
Following the popularity of our Little Explorers camps, we are extending the program into the school year. 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 theme for this session is “Fall Colors.” Join us while we explore the fall colors of Sunfish Lake Park! We will be taking a little hike to collect leaves and make our own fall placemats.
Ages: 1 – 5 yrs. old
Fee: $8 per person, this includes per adult and child (Under 1 are free)
Time:10 a.m. -11:30 a.m.
To sign up, simply follow this link: https://square.link/Toddler Tuesdays

Stargazing Date Night at Sunfish Lake Park
2024-10-19 18:00 - 20:00
Like to look at the beautiful night sky but not sure what the heck is up? We are thrilled to have the Minnesota Astronomical Society come and teach us all about the cosmos. We will look for Saturn, the moon, double stars and galaxies. Bring your partner! Bring a friend! A light supper will be provided.
Tickets for this event are $15 (to help with food costs), and to register, you can go here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/909999491977?aff=oddtdtcreator
You will be out on the prairie so dress warm.

Fall Colors on the Sunfish Lake Park Tree Trek
2024-10-12 13:00 - 14:30
Fall Colors on the Sunfish Lake Park Tree Trek – Saturday October 12 starts at 1 PM. Meet at the Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center and come walk along the Tree Trek with Master Gardener Peter as your guide. This path is wheelchair accessible, and you can see about 40 different kinds of trees. We will then have a talk on how and why the leaves change colors, and coffee and dessert. The level of presentation is from Grade-school to Grandparent. You may also collect pretty leaves and use our laminator to make a placemat or window decoration. Please register at https://sminc-lake-elmo.org/n/ and tell how many are in your group, so we can prepare enough dessert. No charge, but a free-will donation is requested.

Regular Buckthorn Removal Days
2024-10-12 09:30 - 12:00, 2024-09-14 09:30 - 12:00, 2024-08-10 09:30 - 12:00, 2024-07-13 09:30 - 12:00, 2024-06-08 09:30 - 12:00, 2024-05-11 09:30 - 12:00, 2024-04-13 09:30 - 12:00, 2024-03-09 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!

Fall Family Nature Exploration and Photo Hike
2024-10-12 09:30 - 11:00
On Saturday, October 12, at 9:30, our incredibly talented volunteer, Christa Rittberg, will be leading a Family Photo Nature Hike. For nature lovers of all ages, Christa will have some great tips for taking nature photos that really pop. How many times has something beautiful outside caught your attention, but when you looked at the picture it was just…blah? Well, there are a few things you do to make sure that those pictures really pop next time. Christa has led this hike before, and the results from our hikers were breathtaking. This is a free event, all you need to bring is a phone or tablet—or camera if you have it, but no fancy equipment is necessary!

Julie Schroeder Painting Workshop: Alcohol Inks
2024-10-10 10:00 - 14:00
Hello Artists!

There will be an Alcohol Inks Workshop to raise money for programs
at the Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center.

SMINC Fundraiser
Exploring Alcohol Inks Thursday October10th 2024

10am-2pm

This will be a fun day experimenting with alcohol ink techniques.
We’ll be doing a variety of landscapes, seascapes and some florals as well.

This medium is very special. It’s not like any other art form. It’s so exciting to watch the inks move & flow & it happens right in your hands! Anyone can do it…no need to have experience.
Each painting is totally unique, bright & powerful.

I’ll walk you through the steps to beautiful vibrant paintings.

We’ll also be creating doodle flowers. We’ll be using the inks on Yupo paper as well as tiles for amazing effects!

We’ll also be experimenting with different brands of inks and ink markers & gold foil.

All supplies included!

Come & have fun with colors & free flow painting. You’ll take home many little gems of paintings as well as some on tiles!

The class will be at the Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center.

Cost will be $50.00, payable to the SMINC and a supply fee of $25.00 to me.

Let me know if you’re interested, space is limited.

Hope to see you painting!

brushcolour@yahoo.com
Website: Livingwatercolours.com
Phone: 651-352-5695

Be Bird Friendly: Land Stewardship for Bird Conservation
2024-10-05 10:00 - 12:00
Learn how to protect our feathered friends by managing your land in a bird-friendly way!
Join Wild Rivers Conservancy, Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center, and and Bird City Stillwater/SSMN.Org for a walking tour highlighting local bird species and bird-friendly land stewardship practices. This tour will provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of land stewardship practices in a variety of habitats and demonstrate their significance in supporting native bird species.
During this tour, we will be visiting the Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center to learn about native bird species and hear more about restoration initiatives undertaken on the property. Staff will be answering audience questions and providing tips on how to keep your land healthy and bird-friendly.

This is a free event, but space is limited. To reserve your spot, go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/be-bird-friendly-land-stewardship-for-bird-conservation-tickets-1003552621907?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

Julie Schroeder Painting Workshop
2024-09-26 10:00 - 14:00
If you are interested in signing up for one of Julie’s workshops, you can contact her directly at: brushcolour@yahoo.com

Mixed Media Lighthouse (w/ Julie Schroeder)
2024-08-15 10:00 - 14:00
We’ll be using all kinds of materials and imbedding them right into the paint!
A few of the items I’ll have available will be beads, lace, yarns, ribbons, papers, sand, & glitter.
We’ll also be using stencils.
You will choose your colors, pattern & lighthouse, so each painting will be unique!
For more information, or to register, contact Julie directly at brushcolour@yahoo.com
Website: Livingwatercolours.com
Phone: 651-352-5695

Under the Sea with Creatures and Reefs (Two Days)
2024-07-31 10:00 - 14:00, 2024-07-30 10:00 - 14:00
Splashing & flinging paint in a really loose wet into wet mixed media beginning.
Using paint, gauze, & salt, perhaps handmade papers & some pouring techniques we’ll create an undersea world using your favorite colors!—You can choose any sea creatures you like, turtles, dolphins, jellyfish, seahorses, whales are some ideas. Discover and energize your inner artist with exciting new watercolor techniques and watch the magic. You will combine watercolor, salt & cotton gauze to create this unique textural look for coral reefs. Step by step class demonstrations & individual instruction will be given to help you enhance your ability to paint in a more intuitive & fluid manner. Let loose as you throw & splatter color to add dimension and a fresh, unrehearsed look to your work. We’ll begin with fresh color and handmade papers. We’ll be dripping, splashing & flicking paint rich color with a wet into wet beginning by laying in gauze, papers & salt for texture…all the fun stuff with watercolors! You’ll be free to draw images or just be free with colors. Come prepared to have fun with a variety of techniques & release your inner child
For more information, or to register, contact Julie directly at brushcolour@yahoo.com
Website: Livingwatercolours.com
Phone: 651-352-5695

Acrylics Workshop with Julie Schroeder
2024-06-12 09:00 - 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

Closing at Noon for Private Event
2024-06-10 12:00 - 16:00
We will be closing at noon on Monday, June 10 for a private event. We will be open in the morning, and our Little Explorers summer camp session will (9:30 to 11) will go on as scheduled. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Annual Sunfish Lake Park Family Nature Day
2024-06-01 09:00 - 13:00
Saturday, June 1st, 2024, 9 AM to 1 PM This FREE event, held rain or shine, is suitable for people from pre-K to seniors, and offers an array of presentations about nature and recreation in Sunfish Lake Park. Wheelchair accessible.
Family Nature Day, normally held on the first Saturday of June, began with the efforts of Judith Blackford in 2015. Here are some historical documents in Judith’s own words and works, and a report published in The Source (City of Lake Elmo newsletter ) for Summer 2015

Acrylics Workshop with Julie Schroeder (Two Days)
2024-05-24 09:00 - 14:00, 2024-05-23 10:00 - 14:00

Adopt-a-Tree program
2024-04-29 08:00 - 17:00
For the April 29th, 2023 John Neitge Earth Day oak seedling planting event, we introduced something new: our Adopt-a-Tree program. The bur oak seedings were obtained from the Washington Conservation District. Over 160 were planted in buckthorn-cleared areas of Sunfish Lake Park, but 25 more are still available at the Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center.

For $5 you will receive an oak seedling, 12-18 inches tall, a plastic bag to keep the roots moist before planting, the stake, and a protective tube for planting it, with a number label. Each tree will get a unique number, and we will provide GPS latitude and longitude values so you can find it in the future. Any time the Park is open, you can visit your tree to water it, measure it, count the leaves, and photograph it. When you send us this information by email, we will add it to the database as soon as it is ready, so it can be used to study the success of the Restoration of Sunfish Lake Park project.

Each tree has a unique number. We are working on a system to keep track of the location of each one. Please bear with us while we work out the technical difficulties. Then, when the adopter visits their tree, they can report on how it is faring. We want to see if adopted trees do better than orphans, and we have also planted (in early October) 25 oak seedlings “fostered” by the Washington County Master Gardeners at their new Gravel Bed Tree Nursery just South of the 4H Building at the Washington County Fairgrounds.

Interested in adopting a tree? It’s a great opportunity for each child (or adult) to have their own tree for only $5! Email us at oaks23@sminc-lake-elmo.org with name(s) and address(es) of the tree adopter(s). When you sign up, we will work out a time for a guide to take the adopter(s) out to the Park location where the trees can be planted.

Those who adopted a tree are invited to visit it any time the Park is open. You may water your tree, take its picture, and note its condition. Send the picture and information to oaks23@sminc-lake-elmo.org and we will keep track of it. We are hoping to show that the adopted trees do better than the “orphans” that were planted the same day but not given special care. Do your part to help the forest regenerate after buckthorn removal.

Earth Day
2024-04-22 08:00 - 17:00
Once again, the Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center celebrated Earth Day by advancing the Restoration of Sunfish Lake Park. Please visit the “Buckthorn Removal” tab for background information.
Earth Day activities at the SMINC are being done in memory of John Neitge, our Friend who passed away in December of leukemia. John was a Board Member of Friends of Lake Elmo’s Sunfish Lake Park, organized the three activities for Earth Day 2022, led the Kite Flying, Walking Stick Carving, and Spoon Carving events, and through his energy, willingness to help, and positive attitude “Excellent!” was an inspiration to all
