Join us at Merry Lea to discover the diversity of the plants and animals that live here! Go on a hike to look for signs of animals, and discover the different ecosystems they inhabit. Analyze some of our native plants up close, and see how they help build habitats.
Join Merry Lea for our first ever Vegetable and Native Plant Swap in partnership with Indiana Native Plant Society (INPS). Pot up your extra plants and join other growers and plant enthusiasts to trade them. Don’t have a plant to swap? We’ve got you covered! Everyone who attends will be able to participate. This is a great event to meet other plant enthusiasts in the community, learn about new plants, and of course take home a new plant!
In this session, we’ll transplant warm season favorites like tomatoes, peppers, okra, eggplant, squash, basil, and flowers. Learn about proper spacing, pruning, trellising, essential tools, and how to use cover crops to support your soil. We’ll wrap up by making fresh tomato basil soup with grilled cheese.
This month at Tales and Trails, we’ll be reading My Awesome Summer by P. Mantis, written by Paul Meisel. This lively story follows a praying mantis through its summer life cycle. After our reading, we’ll head out to the Merry Lea Teaching Farm to look for signs that insects and other creatures are waking up from their long winter nap.
Upcoming high school juniors and seniors can make Merry Lea their home for a week this summer during Conservation Leadership School! Camp overnight and explore a world full of natural resources and conservation. Hike across historic wetlands, help run a community nature event, get a taste of careers in the natural resources field, and canoe at Chain O' Lakes State Park. Enjoy an educational and rejuvenating week at our beautiful 1,189 acre nature sanctuary with peers and professionals inspired by the natural world.
