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.
Join us for our new monthly hiking group here at Merry Lea, the Merry Lea Milers! During our time together, we will hear from a guest speaker about various nature-related topics while eating some lunch. Afterwards, we will spend the rest of our time hiking and exploring around the property. Please wear weather appropriate clothing, closed-toe shoes, bring a sack lunch and a water bottle.
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.
Don’t miss this opportunity to join Merry Lea at this free, family-friendly event designed to get people outside on Thursday, June 4, as part of a state-wide effort by Indiana Children and Nature Network (ICAN) Nature Play Days! There will be a variety of guided and self-guided activities to choose from all afternoon. Dip for tadpoles, create a craft, go on a hike, work on a scavenger hunt and so much more. Come explore the natural world in your own backyard!
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.
June's Wetlands & Watercolors program will get students immersed in a wetland ecosystem while learning about the small animals and creatures that call it home. Create your own artistic masterpiece with watercolors to take with you!
Quiet Paddles & Wild Wings is a gentle adventure for families to explore the world of birds together. We’ll begin on land, tuning our eyes and ears to the flutter, chirp and swoop of feathered friends in the woods. Then we’ll slip into canoes and paddle around High Lake, gliding through bird habitat and seeing who we can spot along the shore and overhead. Binoculars, field guides, canoes and all equipment are provided — just bring your curiosity, teamwork and love of being outside.
Join us for our new monthly hiking group here at Merry Lea, the Merry Lea Milers! During our time together, we will hear from a guest speaker about various nature-related topics while eating some lunch. Afterwards, we will spend the rest of our time hiking and exploring around the property. Please wear weather appropriate clothing, closed-toe shoes, bring a sack lunch and a water bottle.
This month we are hiking out to a special geologic location at Merry Lea. We will find ancient stones and explore their many shapes, sizes and textures. We will be reading A Stone Sat Still by Brendan Wenzel and observing how time shaped a stone.
