Join us for our free, family-friendly 28th Annual Wildlife Festival on September 30th from 10 am to 2 pm at the Oak Savanna Learning Center! Help us to celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week (October 8 - 14, 2023), Urban National Wildlife Refuge Day (October 7, 2023), National Public Lands Day (September 23, 2023) and all the wildlife at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge.
The festival will include several booths set along the packed granite trails at the Oak Savanna Learning Center. Make sure to check out the engaging, hands-on activities at each booth; meet Puddles the Blue Goose, learn about refuge wildlife and management, try your hand at a BB gun, experience native seed cleaning, learn about Native American culture, observe live animals, investigate aquatic invertebrates, test your home water nitrate levels and more! Two local food trucks will be on-site to serve a variety of food at a reasonable cost. A silent auction and the Eagle's Nest Nature Store will be available for perusing inside the Oak Savanna Learning Center.
Several refuge service roads will be open to vehicle traffic from 8 am to 2 pm to provide visitors a rare opportunity to see areas of the refuge that are not typically open to vehicles. Maps showing the open refuge roads will be available on the homepage of this website, at Refuge Headquarters and at the Welcome Booth on the day of the event.
The Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge Photography Club will be displaying all entries to the 2023 Youth Photography Contest at this event. Entries must be submitted by September 1, 2023.
Registration not required.
Water Nitrate Testing:
To test home water nitrate, make sure to bring at least one-half cup of water in any type of labelled, clean container within 24 hours of the festival. For the best sample, make sure to run the water for 3 minutes before before filling the container. If you have a water treatment system, other than a softener, bring a "before" treatment and "after" treatment sample.
Accessibility:
Restrooms and water fountains will be available inside and outside the Oak Savanna Learning Center building. Trails behind the Learning Center are considered accessible with a crushed granite surface.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is committed to providing access to these events for all participants. Please direct all requests for special accommodation to Refuge Headquarters: 763‐389‐3323, sherburne@fws.gov, or TTY 800‐877‐8339 by 4 pm on Friday, September 15.