Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and the Friends of Sherburne invite you to at their 23rd Annual Wildlife Festival on Sat., Sept. 24, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., which honors National Wildlife Refuge Week. This year’s festival celebrates public lands by highlighting refuge activities for the public such as hunting, photography, wildlife observation, environmental education and much more. 

 

The refuge’s brand-new Oak Savanna Learning Center will be the setting for all of the festival’s activites. At 11 a.m., staff from the Audubon Center of the North Woods will use live animals to present a program called the “Northwoods Niche”. At 1p.m., photo-naturalist and publisher, Sparky Stensaas, will present his “Wildlife Photography Tips and Tricks” and share his best-kept secrets for taking authentic pictures of wildlife in nature. 

 

The top three grand prize winners of the Sherburne NWR’s 2nd Annual K-12 nature photography contest will be announced. All other winning photographs will be on display at the festival, too. You can enjoy a horse-drawn hay ride, a bonfire,  and wildlife exhibits; and try your hands at hands-on archery, air-rifle, nature arts and crafts, and dip-netting. Don’t miss the Turn in Poachers (TIP) “Wall of Shame.” 

 

Several refuge service roads will be open to vehicle traffic from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. to provide visitors a rare opportunity to see areas of the refuge that are not normally open to vehicle travel. 

 

Friends of Sherburne sell brats and hot dogs from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. A birthday cake in honor of the refuge will be served at 12:45 p.m., free of charge.  The Friends will hold a silent auction with bidding open until 2:30 p.m.  Proceeds go toward environmental education and other refuge projects.

 

The  Oak Savanna Learning Center is located ¼ mile west of refuge headquarters off Sherburne County Road 9 at 16797 289th Ave NW, Zimmerman, MN 55398; look for event signs.  For more information contact Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge at (763) 389-3323.