The North Lakeland Discovery Center in Manitowish Waters is a non-profit that wants to help connect people with nature.
It does this in a lot of different ways, including school programs, various events, field trips, and its nature center.
They also do conservation work in the area like bat surveys and pulling invasives.
“We're all about just trying to connect people in whatever way,” said Jenna Richardson. a naturalist for the discovery center.
She says some people want to do hands-on activities to gain experience while learning, while others want to listen to a presentation by an expert.
“No matter what the interest, you know, we're just trying to get people to continue conserving and protecting our natural resources here in the Northwoods,” said Richardson.
The Discovery Center is funded by memberships, donations, and grants.
“Without our support of these grant fundings and also our members and our community, we wouldn't have our doors open. We wouldn't be able to have a free nature center like we do, and supply free programming throughout the year. Our program registration also helps to fund our establishment,” said Richardson.
It’s biggest fundraiser of the year, The Big Event, is coming up at the end of this month.
Richardson says they try to make it festive with different performers, a dinner, and live and silent auctions as well as raffles. There will also be games ranging from blackjack to a wacky wildlife race.
“All of this is going to be outside, so we have a couple tents set up overlooking the lake, so the ambience is just lovely. Last year we had some rain in the morning, and then by the evening, we had the perfect glowy evening for hours that night. So it was very special,” said Richardson.
“The Big Event” is Saturday, June 7th from 4:30-7:30 p.m.
You do need to buy tickets and register in advance. You can find the details on the North Lakeland Discovery Center website.
