Join us for our free, family-friendly 29th Annual Wildlife Festival on September 28th from 10 am to 2 pm at the Oak Savanna Learning Center! Help us to celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week (October 13 - 19, 2024), Urban National Wildlife Refuge Day (October 12, 2024), National Public Lands Day (September 28, 2024) 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, explore refuge wildlife and management, embark on a grazing goat tour, try your skills at a BB gun range, experience native seed cleaning, learn about Native American culture, observe live animals, discover aquatic invertebrates, watch a bird banding demonstration and more! Local food vendors will be on-site to serve a variety of food at a reasonable cost and there will be complimentary meals for kids 17 and under provided by L.L. Bean and National Wild Turkey Federation. A silent auction and the Eagle's Nest Nature Store will be available for perusing inside the Oak Savanna Learning Center.
Additional highlights of the festival include:
- A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new amphitheater at 10:15 am, which will host various programs throughout the day focusing on local wildlife and habitats.
- A presentation at 12:00 pm by the Wildlife Science Center featuring some of Minnesota’s most remarkable raptors, including live hawks and owls.
- A captivating program at 1:15 pm by naturalist Al Batt on “spark birds,” encouraging participants to discover the joy of birdwatching.
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.
Registration not required.
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. Amphitheater behind the Learning Center is considered accessible with a concrete surface.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is committed to providing access to these events for all participants. Please direct all requests for accommodation to Refuge Headquarters: 763‐389‐3323, sherburne@fws.gov, or TTY 800‐877‐8339 at least two weeks before the event.