Friends of Kickapoo Valley Reserve and the Kickapoo Valley Reserve will be hosting a variety of Earth Day Celebration activities April 20-27, 2024.  All programs are free and open to the public!  Read more about the activities below.  Please indicate the activities you are interested in attending.  There is no fee for these programs, we use this to gauge volunteer numbers so we can plan accordingly.

1. Friends of Kickapoo Valley Reserve maintain an Adopt a Highway section of State Road 131.  The adopted section is from Harris Road (just north of the Visitor Center) to County Road P (west).  We provide safety vests and bags and full bag pick up along the roadside.  You get a a clean roadway, an envelope of pollinator flower seed and if you are a Friends member you get a 25% off coupon for the KVR Giftshop for participating!    Join in if you are a KVR Friend or even if you would like to be!                                                                                                  
2. Earth Day Celebration ZERO WASTE Potluck Meal:  5pm at the KVR Visitor Center - Bring a dish to pass, your own utensils, your own plates, cloth napkin, your own cup/glass for beverage. KVR Staff will be grilling brats and hot dogs! Let's share a meal and produce ZERO WASTE!!  Everyone welcome, the meal is FREE!                                                                                                                                                                                                    
3. Spring Hike with a Naturalist: 3:30pm on Saturday, April 20 leaving from the KVR Visitor Center. Join Master Naturalist, Joan Peterson on a hike through the spring landscape.  Discover spring ephemerals, birds, pond life, and more!   Everyone is welcome, there is no fee for this program.                                                                                                                  
4. Froggy Starry Twilight Stroll:  7:30pm on Saturday, April 20. Join knowledgeable guides on a leisure twilight stroll from the Visitor Center.  Hear frog calls and learn about the twilight sky.  Everyone is welcome, there is no fee for this program.                                                                                                                  
5. Dark Sky Lighting Tour:  6-8pm at the KVR Visitor Center.  Take a guided tour of the dark sky lighting at the Visitor Center.   Ask questions and learn easy ways you can improve your nighttime lighting to support dark skies.   Everyone is welcome, there is no fee for this program.                                                                                                                                                                         
6. Stars and Sips: Dusk at the Visitor Center:  Enjoy beverages under patio heaters and the stars, while you view the night sky through telescopes!   Everyone is welcome, there is no fee for this program.                      
7. Garlic Mustard Gathering:  All Week!  At your own pace, volunteers are tasked with pulling and bagging Garlic Mustard plants from areas on the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. All the Garlic Mustard (GM) will be weighed, and we will announce the poundage that is removed by volunteers!   Stop in the KVR Visitor Center to get GM collection bags. Great stewardship activity for all ages!                                                                                                                                       
8. Annual Roadside Cleanup:  All Week!  At your own pace, volunteers are tasked with cleaning roadways in and around the Kickapoo Valley Reserve.  With the support of Vernon County Solid Waste and Recycling, there will be a dumpster for all roadway trash in the Visitor Center parking lot.  Everyone is welcome to participate!  Stop in at the Visitor Center to borrow a safety vest and get garbage bags. 

Check the box next to the activity you are interested in!  All programs are free and open to all!