Wind, snow, rain or dark of night won't keep Super Ike Conservation Heroes away from nature! The Porter County Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America hosted their annual Family Nature Nights at Brummitt Elementary School of Chesterton on Tuesday, March 14 and at Yost Elementary on Thursday, March 16. Family Nature Night is a chance for school families to come to their school in the evening to meet native and exotic animals, learn about conservation in their community, play games that teach respect for nature and have lots of fun together while doing it. This year the chapter is selecting young people who complete each booth at Family Nature Night and show great enthusiasm toward conservation. "PCC is all about conservation.
We don't have a club house, a boat launch or a gun range...we just focus on clean water, habitat restoration and general conservation in NW Indiana," said the chapter's Executive Director, Annette Hansen. "Conservation Super Heroes like Zoe, Emmet, Claire and Millie, deserve special recognition and will be invited to learn more with the chapter during actual restoration projects at our conservation properties around Porter County. Getting youth involved as 'Defenders of Nature' is the key to our long-term goals."
Funding for these programs was provided in part by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Lake Michigan Coastal Program and the Izaak Walton League of America National Endowment. Families interested in coming to such an event can find PCC available to the public on April 15 (10-2) at Valparaiso's Porter County Museum with an Earth Day Celebration and at the "Migratory Bird Festival and Habitat Improvement Day" at Westchester Bird Sanctuary in Chesterton; 1050 S 11th, on April 8 (9-3). For more information call Hansen at 219-241-7431, visit PCC on Facebook @PCCIWLA or their new website: NWIconservation.org.