If parents are looking for a fun opportunity for their children to start this weekend off, the Friends of Chakchiuma Swamp have the answer for you. The best part: It’s free.
Nature at Night will be held from 7:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. tonight, Friday, Aug. 18, at the Lee Tartt Nature Preserve in the Grenada Downtown District, 320 N. Main St. The FREE program is intended for all ages.
Nature at Night is a Mississippi Bat Working Group mist netting event open to the public, according to Robin Whitfield, director of the Lee Tartt Nature Preserve
“Encounter the mysteries of a summer night in Mississippi with scientists and naturalists,” Whitfield said. “Join us for a family-friendly evening of nighttime adventures at Lee Tartt Nature Preserve as we explore creatures of the night in Chakchiuma Swamp.”
Moths will be studied during Friday night's Nature at Night event hosted by the Friends of Chakchiuma Swamp.
According to Whitfield, the evening will feature stories and cool facts about bats as participants wait for the bats to fly. Mist netting stations will be set up to catch, document and release bats.
“The evening also includes guided walks in search of spiders and insects with experts, sheets lit up with UV lights to attract moths and the magical sounds of nighttime in a swamp,” Whitfield added.
The event will be led by Becky Rosamond and Amber Floyd, United States Fish & Wildlife Service biologists and researchers for the Mississippi Bat Working Group as well as Gail Stratton and Pat Miller, spider experts from Oxford.
Participants are asked to bring a chair, headlamp and/or flashlight and water bottle for cold water that will be provided. Close-toed shoes are highly recommended. If participants have a Thermacell, they are asked to bring it too.
