Hikes, plant programs planned at Giant City
Hikes and programs about plants are planned during September and October at Giant City State Park near Makanda.
Registration is needed for some of the events. To register, or for more information, call 618-457-4836.
Here’s a look at the upcoming events:
Guided Hikes
Leisurely guided hikes are planned at 1 p.m. each Saturday during September and October.
Hikes will be on trails that range in length from 1 to 2 miles.
No registration is necessary. Hikers will meet at the visitors center.
“Plant Blindness”
A “plant blindness” program is planned at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 9, at the park.
Organizers explained that an “inability to see the plants that surround us is termed ‘plant blindness’.”
At the Sept. 9 program, Illinois botanist Christopher David Benda “will challenge your perceptions about plants and teach you ways to inform others about their value to humans and nature.”
No registration is necessary. The program will be at the visitors center.
Identifying Grasses
The program is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15.
Erin Medvecz, who is with University of Illinois Extension, is scheduled to present the free program.
Medvecz will share tips and techniques which can be used to help identify 30 different grasses which grow in Southern Illinois.
A hike is planned following the presentation.
Registration is requested to attend the program.
Wild Plants of Giant City
Giant City State Park is home to hundreds of species of plants.
Extension forester Chris Evans plans to lead a wild plant hike on the one-mile-long Giant City Nature Trail from 10 a.m. until noon on Saturday, Sept. 15.
The program is free. Registration is requested.
Hike with Homeless Dog
Giant City is partnering with Wright Way Animal Rescue to get our four-legged and two-legged friends out for a hike together.
Hikes are planned from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 11 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 22.
Participants will have an opportunity to walk either the moderate, one-mile Giant City Nature Trail, or the easy one-third-mile Devil’s Standtable Trail.
Hikers will have a chance to give some new canine friends a little bit of exercise, and maybe even find a “fur-ever” home.
The program is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Space is limited.
Wright-Way Rescue is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.