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Oct. 16: Waterloo Natural History Association 35th anniversary and festival

Courtesy photo. The finished garden at the Discovery Center.
Courtesy photo. The Discovery Center, site of the Waterloo Natural History Association 35th anniversary celebration.

(Chelsea Update would like to thank Gregg Burg for the information in this story.)

On Sunday, Oct. 16, the Waterloo Natural History Association (WNHA) will host its 35th Anniversary Open House and Festival at the Gerald E. Eddy Discovery Center in Sylvan Township from 1-4 p.m.

Planned activities include a kid’s zone, face painting, tracks making, scavenger hunt, cider pressing, fall leaf art, geode cracking and live animal with Paul McCormack.

Naturalist-led walks to the bog will be held at 1 and 2:30 p.m., and there will be presentations on astronomy and flint knapping. Naturalist and musician Tom Hodgson will perform songs about nature. The Discovery Center’s gift shop will offer a large selection of books and nature-related items.

The WNHA was founded in January 1981 when the Department of Natural Resources closed the building known at that time as the Waterloo Nature Center. Its mission was to keep the facility open, provide environmental education to the general public, and support the activities of the Waterloo Recreation Area staff.

Over the years, WNHA has evolved as a friends group, sponsoring environmental and nature programs on topics ranging from animal programs to sketching nature to the zoology of ponds. The WNHA has supported activities at the Discovery Center funding materials and exhibits, building an observation deck, funding the renovation of boardwalks, and operating the gift shop.

Activities for the anniversary celebration are planned rain or shine and will be held at the Discovery Center, 17030 Bush Road.

Admission is free, but a State Recreation Passport is needed.

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