Garden plots for rent at Deer Run Park
Brown County Parks and Recreation has community garden plots available to rent for the 2016 growing season at Deer Run Park.
For more information or to reserve a spot, call 812-988-5522.
Park friends to sell plants at Nature Center
Friends of Brown County State Park’s annual plant sale will take place Saturday, April 23 at the park Nature Center. It will start at 9 a.m. and end when plants are sold out.
Spring two-day plant sale planned
Friends of the Library will host its annual plant sale at the Brown County Public Library, 205 N. Locust Lane, from 3 to 6 p.m. Friday, April 29; and on the lawn of the Brown County Courthouse from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 30.
A variety of sun and shade perennials will be sold in time for spring planting. Other participating organizations include the Brown County Herb Society, Seed Brown County, Brown County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Brown County Native Woodland Project. BCNWP will give away free native trees.
Proceeds benefit the Friends of the Brown County Library and the garden and ravine projects.
For more information, call the library at 812-988-2850 or visit browncounty.lib.in.us.
Series pairs nature hikes with classic literature
Indiana Humanities is launching “Next Indiana Campfires,” a series that pairs literature and nature to help Hoosiers explore Indiana’s wild places and spark conversations about conservation and stewardship.
A humanities scholar will serve as facilitator and lead participants on a pre-determined route by foot, kayak or canoe, and stop periodically to read aloud the words of important Hoosier authors. Participants will then gather for food and drink around a campfire to discuss connections among nature, literature and place.
Dates and locations within two hours of Brown County include:
• May 11: Oliver’s Woods, Indianapolis. An hour-long walk through a Central Indiana Land Trust property not normally open to the public.
• May 22: Wesselman Woods Old Growth Forest, Evansville. A 90-minute walk through Indiana’s largest stand of old growth forest.
• July 9-10: Morgan-Monroe State Forest, Martinsville. A backcountry hike and overnight camping trip in partnership with DNK Presents.
• July 29: Eagle Creek Park, Indianapolis. A two-hour sunset paddling tour on Eagle Creek Reservoir and Fishback Creek.
• Aug. 5: Prophetstown State Park, Lafayette. A sunset hike across the restored prairie, concluding with a discussion inside the Native American council house on site.
• Aug. 14: Cardinal Greenway and Red-tail Nature Preserve, Muncie. A bike ride on the Cardinal Greenway to the preserved prairie of Red-tail Land Conservancy.
• Oct. 28: Glaciers End Nature Preserve, Johnson County. A two-hour trek through a unique ecological site, not open to the general public, shaped by the progress and retreat of glaciers.
• Nov. 5: Morgan-Monroe State Forest, Tecumseh Trail, Martinsville. A late-autumn hike along the Tecumseh Trail.
Each event has a charge of $10 to $15 except for the camping trip in Morgan-Monroe State Forest which will cost $200.
Additional locations will be announced at a later date.
To kick off the series, Indiana Humanities will host a conversation with Terry Tempest Williams at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 4 at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis. Indiana writer Scott Russell Sanders will moderate. Williams, a Guggenheim Fellow, has been called a “citizen writer” for her fierce advocacy of freedom of speech about environmental issues. Tickets are $10. Register at http://CampfiresINconversation.eventbrite.com.
Do-it-yourself “Trek and Talk Toolkits” will also be available for free to 1,000 people who want to create their own Next Indiana Campfire. Learn more at IndianaHumanities.org/Campfires.
Campground hosts still needed at state parks
Indiana’s state parks are looking for volunteers to serve as campground hosts in exchange for free camping during their service. Posts include Brown County and Monroe Lake.
Hosts work a minimum of 20 hours per week. The volunteer period varies based on the number of applicants and on the amount and type of work required.
A complete list of site availability and detailed information about hosting duties is at stateparks.IN.gov/2404.htm or contact the property where you would like to serve as a host.
Download a volunteer application at stateparks.IN.gov/2443.htm.
Library lets you ‘check out’ state parks
In 2016, Hoosiers can check out state parks by checking out an entrance pass from a public library.
At libraries across Indiana — including Brown County — 240 state park passes have been placed in circulation for check-out. The passes will provide access to Indiana’s 32 state parks and also to Indiana’s state forest recreation areas where entrance fees are charged. Passes will be available for check-out throughout the year.
The program is one way Indiana State Parks is celebrating its centennial anniversary. The Indiana State Parks system was a gift to the people of Indiana in 1916 in celebration of the state’s centennial.
Bike benefit weekend scheduled at CYO camp
Tour de Upland, a benefit for Bicycle Indiana and IndyCog 2016 Tour Routes, will take place from 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12, to 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 14, at Camp Rancho Framasa, 2230 Clay Lick Road.
A weekend of camping, beer and biking, the event for adults 21 and older costs $65 to $175. For more information or to register, visit eventbrite.com/e/tour-de-upland-2016-tickets-18144808611.
Disc golf fall series being planned at Deer Run
A disc golf tournament will be played Saturday, Sept. 17, at Deer Run Park.
Registration is at 9 a.m. with tee-off at 10. This will be a two-round tourney with lunch in the middle.
Merchandise prizes will be awarded to winners at the amateur level and cash prizes for winners at the pro level. Refreshments will be sold.
For more information, stop by the parks and rec office, 1001 Deer Run Lane, or call 812-988-5522.
