Sarett Nature Center

05/30/2026

Oops! We accidentally mixed up our dates and will be hosting the Garlic Mustard pull and ice cream social tomorrow on May 31 from 1-3! We will still have a volunteer opportunity for those that come today too. Sorry for any confusion!

05/22/2026

Our Butterfly House opens for the season TOMORROW, Saturday, May 23rd at 10 AM!

Sarett’s Butterfly House is a netted facility located across the driveway from our Nature Center building, with an accessible gravel path. The weather outside is the same inside the Butterfly House. The butterflies are most active on sunny, warm days!

The Butterfly House is open through the summer until the beginning of September, Tuesday - Sunday.

Hours:
Tuesday – Saturday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Sunday: 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Monday: Closed

Please visit the front desk of the Nature Center building to purchase your tickets.

Pricing:
Member Adult: $5
Member Child (Under 13): $3
Non-member Adult (includes admission to the Nature Center): $11
Non-member Child (Under 13): $5

For more information, please visit https://www.sarett.org/butterfly-house. We can't wait to see you there!

05/20/2026

WE HAVE KESTREL STICKERS!

Get one FREE if you participate in helping monitor our kestrel nesting box locations. All you need to do is check in at the front desk before heading out on the trails to learn of the locations to monitor, then head out (with binoculars if you have them). If you see any activity, report it back, and you'll receive a sticker!

The stickers are also available to purchase in our bookstore for $3.

05/19/2026

It’s May…time for the mayapples to bloom. Known as the umbrella plant by our students, the mayapple grows in moist, rich soil in shadier areas.

In its first year of growth, it has a single leaf. This leaf is divided into sections so it looks like several leaves growing on one stalk. During the second growth year, two leaves emerge with a single flower bud hanging beneath them.

After it is pollinated the flower produces a berry that is slightly smaller than a golf ball. This berry (the “apple”) is a summer treat for eastern box turtles and squirrels!

05/15/2026

🌿 Help Bridge the Trails and Connect Stevensville!

We are teaming up with Friends of Berrien County Trails and the Village of Stevensville to help build a new pedestrian bridge over Hickory Creek - closing a long-standing gap in Stevensville’s trail system, including a parcel of Sarett property!

Thanks to the generosity of the Kerlikowske Family a few year back, Sarett owns a 10-acre parcel along Hickory Creek near downtown Stevensville. As you can see on the map, this property is key to connecting the other nearby trails. One of our goals at the nature center is to provide nature experiences and hiking trails for outdoor recreation, so we are excited to be a part of this project to help connect more trails in our community and more access to nature!

If we can help raise the funds needed, this new bridge will connect Kerlikowske Park, Hickory Creek Park, the Jung Nature Trail, and Sarett's property into one safer, more continuous off-road route. Once completed, it will help create a two-mile roundtrip trail experience.

The Bridge the Trails – Connect Stevensville campaign is now live on Patronicity with a $45,000 community crowdfunding goal. If we reach that goal by July 14, 2026, Michigan Economic Development Corporation Public Spaces Community Places program will provide a matching grant - meaning every dollar donated can go twice as far.

💚 Donate today: patronicity.com/bridge
🔗 Learn more: https://berrientrails.org/.../bridge-the-trails-help.../

05/08/2026

05/06/2026

We could use your help this summer! Join us this weekend to learn about volunteering for our summer camps from 2 - 3 PM this Saturday, May 9th.

05/05/2026

In just 11 days teams of birders from all over southwest Michigan will be spending the day in Berrien county competing to find the most species of birds in one day!

While this is a fun and friendly competition, Birdathon is also an important fundraiser for conservation groups around the area, including Sarett. Sarett has three teams competing this year and we need your support to make this year a success!

For more information or to donate, visit: https://www.sarett.org/southwest-michigan-team-birdathon

05/01/2026

Visitors to Sarett Nature Center should take a walk on River Trail in early May. Hikers will be able to see the flowers of various wetland plants. Marsh marigold is fading out now, but some plants such as american black currant and golden ragwort are at their peak.

Golden ragwort, also known as golden groundsel, is in the aster family. Insect visitors include several species of bees and flies. Most mammals do not eat the leaves of the plant because of their toxicity.

As you walk along you will also notice swamp buttercup and spring cress blooming. River trail is very wet and muddy in places. You will want waterproof boots for a more enjoyable adventure.

04/29/2026

Sarett naturalists have found a special little clump hanging out in our fen -- pitcher-plant! Pitcher-plant (Sarracenia purpurea) is a plant that is specialized to fens and bogs thriving in both alkaline and acidic habitats with nutrient-poor substrates.

The "pitcher" structure of pitcher-plants is a highly specialized leaf which forms a hollow structure filled with fine hairs and digestive fluids that acts as a pitfall trap for lured insects.

While pitcher-plant does photosynthesize through leaves and pitchers, it also gets nutrients through the digestion of insects inside of the pitchers. These plants also create captivating flowers which grow much taller than the pitchers themselves and take on a more reddish-purple color. The flowers bloom between late spring and early summer.