Tag Archives: Nature

St. Croix Valley Community Band Concert

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The FREE St. Croix Valley Community Band Concert is a popular RiverFest event. Celebrating community and the scenic St. Croix River with something for people of all ages. You won’t want to miss this fun-filled family evening! Families are encouraged to bring a picnic blanket or lawn chairs and settle in to enjoy the show.

The RiverFest theme song will be played for a sing-along. View the lyrics to the RiverFest, It’s the Best! song.

See the RiverFest mascot Scrappy on display! Created by sculptor Mary Johnson, the splashing bass figure is metal armature. Each year students from the Phipps Center for the Arts “Just Add Water” art and science class help complete the sculpture by processing and re-purposing the litter collected in Hudson during the river cleanup to create a new “skin” for Scrappy.

The State of the St. Croix Watershed

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The public and Rotarians are invited to a free discussion by Angie Hong on the subject of the state of the watershed, following regular meeting of Hudson Daybreak Rotary.

Speaker Angie Hong, Water Education Specialist, Minnesota Washington Conservation District will discuss the St. Croix River watershed, of nearly 8,000 square miles and includes dozens of tributary streams and hundreds of lakes. Where are we making good progress to protect and restore water quality, and what challenges are coming in the future.

CNC – Wisconsin Campus Bioblitz

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Bioblitz programs and hikes begin at 3pm on Friday, July 21 and continue on Saturday, July 22, ending at noon.

Visitors can sign up to learn about moths, birds and other plants and animals found at Carpenter Nature Center’s Wisconsin Campus. Learn from bird, invertebrate, reptile, amphibian, and plant experts in a fun day of citizen science. Come to the Wisconsin Campus and join inventory teams in restored prairies, riparian habitats, and wooded bluff lands to discover and document plant and animal species. All ages are welcome at this FREE program.

Surveyors will hike the woods, prairies and oak savannahs of CNC’s Wisconsin Campus and report their findings to our Bioblitz HQ at the Al & Laurie Hein Visitor Center at 279 S. Cove Road, Hudson.

To sign up for a specific program or hike register by calling Jen  at 651-437-4359 (ext. 108) or Abbey at 651-437-4359 (ext. 118).

Plans are underway but here is a peek some of the programs:

Saturday at 4:45am: “OMG it’s Early Bird Survey” with Ben Douglas
The team will get up before civil sunrise (at a very un-civilized time) to survey birds.

Saturday at 10am: Bumblebee Survey with Chris Smith

Planning for additional programs (including plant surveys) is underway. Please check back later for more details or visit Carpenter Nature Center’s website.

WRSP – Summer Scavenger Hunt

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Get outside and join us for a scavenger hunt at Willow River State Park. Meet at the Willow River Nature Center and search for items on a checklist throughout the park, then come back to the Nature Center and collect a small participation prize!

**This event costs $5/person or $10/family (cash or card) in support of our nonprofit’s mission. Events are free to Friends members, become one here: https://tinyurl.com/Friendmember

Vehicle admission into the park is required.  All outdoor events are weather-dependent. For more info email: naturecenter@willowkinnifriends.org.

Carpenter Nature Center’s Animals of the St. Croix

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Join Carpenter Nature Center (CNC) staff to learn about some of the amazing animals that call the St. Croix River Valley their home and meet them up close!

CNC is an environmental education and conservation organization with the mission of fostering appreciation and inspiring stewardship of the natural world. With campuses on both the Minnesota and Wisconsin sides of the St. Croix River, CNC is able to preserve wildlife habitat while also providing quality educational opportunities.