Local

Fall Arrives at Thorn Creek Nature Center


Thorn Creek Nature Center
Thorn Creek Nature Center. (PHOTO SUPPLIED)

Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- The Thorn Creek Nature Center has prepared the trail for your fall adventures.

Wednesday Morning Walkers can enjoy the early autumn delights on these leisurely (or brisk – take your choice) trail walks. The group walks on Wednesdays, 9-10:30 a.m. Trails can be wet or muddy, so please wear sturdy shoes. Age 13 through adult are invited. Registration is required two days before your first walk.

Oak trees are common in area woodlands, but are they all the same? Find out which oaks are found in our region and how you can tell them apart even when the leaves are gone. Join our naturalist on Saturday, October 1 from 1-3 p.m. for the Know Your Oaks Hike through Thorn Creek Woods. This program is free and for all ages, and will take place on natural surface trails across uneven terrain. Registration is required for this program by Thursday September 29.

Join cellist Ingrid Krizan and pianist Daniel Surma with a foray into the world of beginnings and endings at Thorn Creek Chamber Players Concert on Friday, October 7 at 7 p.m. at Thorn Creek Nature Center.

Celebrate the cycle of Life. Begin with Shostakovich’s lyrical and youthful Sonata, Op.40. Then “End“ with Elgar’s last major work, the poignant e minor Cello Concerto—and continue to other realms!

Pianist Daniel Surma is an accompanist and adjunct professor of piano at St. Xavier University, music director at St. Peter’s UCC in Skokie, IL, and a freelance accompanist throughout the

Chicagoland area. Ingrid is a classically trained professional cellist who weaves seasonal nature narratives into her music. She is a naturalist at Thorn Creek Nature Center.

All proceeds will directly benefit Thorn Creek Woods Nature Preserve and Nature Center. Refreshments will be provided.

Seating is limited and registration is required by Wednesday, October 5. Cost is $10 per person. Program is for those older than 12 years. Parking is at the nature center and at New Community Church just north of the nature center.

Come join us to share the smells, sounds and sights of Thorn Creek Woods at night on Friday, October 14 at 7 p.m. Our naturalist will guide you in a “quiet time” experience to take in the nocturnal activities occurring in the preserve before winter sets in. No flashlights, please. This hike is free for adults and children age 16 and older. Registration is required by Wednesday, October 12.

Come walk the boundary between the natural and magical night time worlds of Thorn Creek Woods at the Magical Moon Night Hike, Sunday, October 16 from 6:30-8 p.m. The music and magic of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts will help you use your senses to unlock the woodland’s magical messages–rustlings, hootings, whispering water, scent of loamy soil and flittering shadows in the forest. Join us for a spell.

Magical Moon Night Hike is free and for those age 16 years and younger. Children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult.Register early for this program; limited space is available. Registration is required by Friday, October 14.

Most who gaze up at the full moon see a face looking back. On Sunday, October 23, just in time for Halloween, kids can create the face they see in the form of a moon face mask at Thorn Creek Nature Center.

Under the guidance of local artist Patricia Moore, artistic participants will create masks, suitable for wearing or display. They can be made to represent any of the phases of the moon – full, half moon, or crescent – and will be decorated and texturized with paints, sequins, feathers and sand.

There will be two mask-making sessions open to all ages, though those under age six should be accompanied by an adult. One will be held from 1-2 p.m., the second from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the nature center. All art supplies will be supplied and refreshments will be served. The cost is $5 per person and pre-registration is required by Friday, October 21.

Is all soil created equal? Come and see, smell, hear and feel for the parts of soil. Learn how soil supports every form of life in the woods. On the hike with naturalist April Richards, you will observe and touch real samples of Thorn Creek Woods soil. The Soils Hike is for ages 8-16 onSaturday, October 29 from 1 to 3 p.m. This program is free and registration is required by Thursday, October 27.

The Soils Hike is one in a series of programs offered for children monthly at Thorn Creek Woods and sponsored by Thorn CreekAudubon Society. Watch for Wild Animal Tracks in December, Beginning Birding for Kids in January and Who Eats Whom in February.

For more information or to register for programs, contact Thorn Creek Nature Center, 247 Monee Rd, Park Forest, 708-747-6320, email [email protected]tcwoods.org or stop in the nature center between noon and 4 p.m. on Friday and Sunday. Three and a half miles of Thorn Creek trails are open daily from dawn to dusk.


ARCHIVES