Take reading outside, and enjoy literature and the beauty of nature all at once! Chikaming Open Lands is excited to announce StoryWalk® On The Preserves 2023, an interactive, family-friendly spring activity, available to the public with the help of the Buchanan District Library, Three Oaks Township Public Library, New Buffalo Township Library, Bridgman Public Library, and sponsored by Horizon Bank.
Through mid-June, selected Preserves of Berrien County will be peppered with prose, promoting an active lifestyle for the bodies and minds of community members of all ages. The StoryWalk Project, created in 2007 by founder Anne Ferguson and partnered with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library, began in Montpelier Vermont and has since spread to all fifty states and thirteen countries.
Chikaming Open Lands has twelve preserves, and you will find StoryWalk® at four of them: Turtle Creek Preserve (New Buffalo), Robinson Woods Preserve (Three Oaks), Jens Jensen Preserve (Sawyer), and Burns Prairie Reserve (Galien). Each Preserve StoryWalk is sponsored by a different local library.
“Book pages have been separately laminated and attached to stakes along each Preserve path,” says Chikaming Open Lands. “As you walk down the trail, you are directed to the next page of the story. To be entered into the StoryWalk Giveaway, simply scan the QR code at the end of the story, and enter your info!” This year, Chikaming Open Lands asks that you register for the event on their website, so they can help you keep track of the books you read.
“StoryWalk® was never designed to be a money-making project,” says Founder Anne Ferguson. “In fact, it is now supported solely by donations from the public. It has always been about promoting early literacy, physical activity, and family time together in nature. Its success is due to partners that understood from very early on, how this idea could be used to bring a fun and educational family activity to their community.”
Chikaming Open Lands is a local land conservancy dedicated to preserving the open spaces and natural rural character of Southwest Berrien County. They protect and restore native plant and animal habitats, improve water quality in our lakes, streams, and rivers, and permanently preserve ecologically significant forests, prairies, and wetlands, as well as farmland and other open spaces in our community. They are a non-profit organization, and can only exist with the help of donors, sponsors, and supporters of their endeavors and passions.
StoryWalk On The Preserves opened on March 20th, 2023, and is up and running until June 20th! Be sure to post photos of your exploratory adventures on social media, and tag #chikamingopenlands. To learn more about this activity, and the many others they host, please visit chikamingopenlands.org.
By Jocelyne Tuszynski, MOTM Contributor
