Howard Christensen Nature Center

08/27/2026

EDIT added to post...

We only have two Saturdays left where the I.C. Building will be open for visitors...Aug. 29th and Sept. 5th, 11:00a-4:00p.

Come see everything one last time or if you’ve never been here, for the first time.
We have to be out by September 30th so after the 5th, we’ll be packing up everything.

EDIT: Please know that there are several people from the board still working with area officials trying to preserve the buildings - that were built with your tax dollars - from demolition. (We still are waiting for an answer from the Land Conservancy of West Michigan on our own proposal to purchase the buildings, with a bit of property.). Please send us an email at [email protected], if you have further questions or suggestions. Thank you!

The trails will remain open, normal hours dawn to dusk.

08/22/2026

Bird migration has begun! Lights out alert!!

Signs of cooler weather are creeping in.. over 600 million birds are estimated to be migrating south over the next 3 nights across the US. A "lights out alert" have been advised from Purdue AeroEco lab for tonight for portions of Michigan and tomorrow night across much of Michigan. Dimming outdoor lights assist in safe migration for the birds.

08/20/2026

Last week we celebrated another great week of summer day camps at Howard Christensen Nature Center!

Over two dozen students joined us each day for daily wild wanders, team-building games, as well as rock painting, fort building, and playing in the creek (finding crayfish and clams!). Campers also continued to learn about fire building, safety and fire-tending. The highlight was learning to make a solar oven (and cook with it!) from a pizza box!

08/09/2026

Our August Board Meeting is this Tuesday, August 11, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. in the Interpretive Center Building.

All are welcome!

07/25/2026

It was a great week at day camp at Howard Christensen Nature Center!! 🌞

Not only was there our customary search for the beloved snapping turtles, and our peaceful wild wanders, time was spent learning team-building skills while building forts in the woods, exploring the treasures of Spring Creek, and learning to properly shoot a bow and arrow. 🎉

Learning to love spending time outdoors, making new friends, away from technology is also our goal. 👍

There is still time to register for our August Day Camps, held August 11-13, 2026. Register for one, two or all three days!

Register until Sunday, August 9th, online on our website at:
www.howardchristensen.org, under "What we offer", then "Community Events".

07/13/2026

Please note...our next board meeting is Wednesday, July 15th at 6:30 p.m. - moved one day to accommodate a schedule conflict -
in the I.C. Building.
Public Welcome

06/26/2026

Looking for a fun experience for your kids, come check out our summer camps. Sign ups now available.

06/24/2026

A few more photos from camp last week. This was fort building day....a favorite amongst the campers. 💪🎉

06/19/2026

What a great week of Summer Day Camp at Howard Christensen Nature Center!

The children enjoyed daily walking adventures, finding and feeding turtles and searching for salamanders!

They also used binoculars for bird watching, participated in games, practiced fort building, learned fire safety, and gathered materials to create their very own "journey sticks"!

The week was topped off with learning to cook apples over their own little fire!

Registration is now open for our July and August Summer Day Camps, on our website under "community events"!

www.howardchristensen.org

06/12/2026

Happy Friday.
Just wanted to share with everyone, that our rock snake
Norbert has found a new home.
Thanks to Miss Melissa, he will living in the rocks at the Cedar Springs Library. Feel free to bring a painted rock to add to his body this summer, let’s make him grow. Have a great summer.