In this issue . . . . .
 
1. Night Hike This Saturday
2. This Workshop is For The Birds
3. SAY CHEESE For Severson Dells
4. Goings On
5. The Key to Fighting Ticks
6. The Woods by Candlelight: Soundtrack by Casey’s Fancy and Emily Hurd
7. Help Kids Learn About the World They’ll Inherit
8. A Therapeutic Thanksgiving Dinner
 
 
1. Family Night Hike

We used to call these Owl Walks. But the owls didn’t always cooperate. Rather than risk the wrath of a sore legal eagle, we rebranded these as simply Night Hikes.

But secretly, we’ll still search for these incredible night birds by ear and eye. So come along this Saturday night, Nov. 8, from 7-8:30 p.m. and help us call for owls — barred, great horned and maybe even a screech or saw whet. Grab the kids and grandparents. Owl or not, there’s nothing like a walk through the night woods, especially if the coyotes cooperate and announce their presence through a chilling canine chorus of yelps and howls.

 
All ages welcome. Free to members of Friends of Severson Dells; $3 per family non-members. Call 1-815-335-2915 to register. Meet in the nature center.
 
 
 
 
 
2. These Workshops Are For the Birds
 
Actually, these workshops are for the people, those who want to learn the trick of pleasing the palates of our fine feathered friends. 
 
Join Bill and Pat Hoople of Wayne’s Feed Store in Rockford for this annual workshop on Sat., Nov. 22, from 9-10:30 a.m., and learn how to successfully run your own Chickadee Cafe. This workshop will benefit both beginners and seasoned bird feeders.

Then, hang around another hour and let our own Richard Benning help you learn how to actually ID the birds showing up at your feeders. Richard’s Feeder Watching Basics will also cover how to use field guides and binoculars. 

Registration is required for both workshops, call 1-815-335-2915.

 
 
 
 
3. SAY CHEESE for Severson Dells

Make a memory this holiday season and support Severson Dells Nature Center.

 
Photographer David Olson is donating studio time in November to support to our nature education programs.  He’s offering this special: For a $100 donation to Severson Dells Nature Center, you and your family get a free 30-minute studio session and a 14-inch print from David Olson Photography. And we’re throwing in a year’s family membership (if you’re already a member, we’ll extend your membership 12 months).

All told, this is a $175 value.

This is a great way to capture the season with a picture of your family, children, grandchildren or maybe just you. Use the photo for your holiday cards.

Call (815) 873-1777 today to make your appointment.

 
 
 
 
 
 
4. Goings On
 
 
08: Family Night Hike, 7:00 pm
22: Winter Bird Feeding Workshop, 9:00 am
22: Feeder Watching Basics, 10:45 am

December 2008
06 - Volunteer Gathering, 1:30 pm
13 - Luminary Walk, Refreshments & Song, 6:00 pm
21 - Winter Solstice Celebration, 7:00 pm
29 & 30 - Our House is Your House,  9:00 am-3:30 pm

January 2009
10 - A Walk In the Woods,  6:00 pm 

5. The Key to Fighting Ticks
 
No outdoor lover  should be without a Tick Key from Severson Dells. And neither should any holiday stocking.

The Tick Key is a device to remove ticks without pinching, squeezing, puling or twisting. It’s the easiest-to-use tick removal device on the market. It works on people, pets, horses, cattle and deer, if you can catch one. Simply place the body of tick in tear drop hole and pull key forward to
firmly grab the tick by the “neck.”  It removes the tick, head and all, in one easy motion. It works on wood ticks, dog ticks and deer ticks.

 
It does not work on clock ticks.
 
The tick key, available around Nov. 15, comes in five metallic colors — green, blue, orange, purple and red. It’s flat so you can keep it in a wallet if you want. 
 
The Tick Key is yours for $6.95. Call now and reserve your tick key (815) 335-2915.
 
The Tick Key is just one in an assortment of great nature-related gifts and stocking stuffers for under $15 in our
gift shop.
Remember, this holiday season, shop Severson Dells. Support Nature Education.
 
 
6. The Woods by Candlelight
Soundtrack by Casey’s Fancy and Emily Hurd
 
Rare is the night when 400 candles light the trails at Severson Dells Forest Preserve. It comes but once a year and this year it’s on Dec. 13 from 6-9 p.m.
 
Come for a stroll, a sip of hot chocolate, conversation by the fireplace and great music inside the Nature Center. Casey’s Fancy (right) returns to musically deliver the season with a festive Irish twist.
 
Rockford Auburn High School grad and Denver transplant Emily Hurd makes her Luminaria Night debut with a soulful indie musical stew that channels everyone from Janice Joplin to Hoagie Carmichael.
 
 

7. Volunteers Needed
 
When you volunteer at Severson Dells Nature Center, you help give children life experiences.

We rely on education volunteers to help our staff deliver important lessons on nature. You can become an education volunteer. Don’t worry, we’ll train you so you can help raise the next generation of Earth Stewards.
If you can’t volunteer during the week, we also need folks to serve as center hosts during the weekend.

We also need people to volunteer for half-day shifts so we can keep the center open on Saturday and Sunday. And what a wonderful place to be a volunteer.
For more information, call us at (815) 335-2915.

 

 
8. A Therapeutic Thanksgiving Dinner
 
Our friends at Vegetarians In Motion are welcoming Philip Chard, a nature therapist (a psychotherapist who uses nature interaction to foster emotional healing). He will  present “Nature’s Way: Emotional Healing and Spiritual Growth Through Nature Interaction.”
 
Chard will keynote VIM’s annual Thanksgiving Dinner 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 23, at Cliffbreakers. For more information, call  Carol Burmeister (815) 397-5579.
 
The power of nature to heal the heart and grow the human spirit was recognized and honored by earlier cultures, but is largely forgotten in our own.  Chard is a leader in this field. He wrote "The Healing Earth: Nature’s Medicine for the Troubled Soul," in 1994 to apply the principles of nature therapy to counseling and self-help. His presentation will examine how nature can help people overcome debilitating emotions, make difficult choices, heal loss and grief, gain self-understanding, nurture creativity, promote personal development and find spiritual “bedrock.”