Make nature friendly holiday crafts. See sandhill cranes by the thousands.

Joseph Dits, South Bend Tribune
·2 min read

Make your holidays cheap and nature friendly, see tens of thousands of sandhill cranes and learn about native prairies in events this coming week.

Here's what we're reporting in this week's Outdoor Adventures column.

The main column:Gifts: A hiker's 'liberating' way, a new shipwreck preserve and more Chinook

DIY natural holidays

Diana Mendelsohn, owner of Green Earth Bike Rental, will host a free, kid-friendly celebration with door prizes and nature-based holiday crafts around a fire pit at South Bend’s Howard Park from 5 to 7 p.m. Dec. 2. Bring a mug for complimentary hot cocoa or coffee. Bring bird seed to donate. For questions, contact her at 574-310-9428 or greenearthbikerental@gmail.com.

Also, in a separate event, Mendelsohn will demonstrate how to make a fresh evergreen swag, centerpiece and holiday tree for $5 in materials from 11:30 to 11:55 a.m. Dec. 2 at the Technology Resource Center at Ignition Park, 1165 Franklin St., South Bend. It’s part of a free “Be Your Own Santa” event with entrepreneurs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 2 at that site.

Sandhill cranes are at the height of their migration numbers at Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area in Medaryville, Ind. This shot is from 2020 in Walkerton.
Sandhill cranes are at the height of their migration numbers at Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area in Medaryville, Ind. This shot is from 2020 in Walkerton.

See the sandhill cranes

The South Bend-Elkhart Audubon Society will lead a trip Dec. 3 to see the burgeoning numbers of sandhill cranes as they migrate — 31,975 of them as of Nov. 22, then 24,208 on Nov. 29 — at the Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area in Medaryville, Ind.

Participants will meet at 12:30 p.m. EST at the north end of the Kohl’s parking lot at Ireland Road and Miami Street in South Bend to either carpool or caravan. The first stop will be 1:45 p.m. EST at Kankakee Fish and Wildlife Area’s Kiwani Marsh, 4320 Toto Road, North Judson, to look for waterfowl. Then the group will depart the marsh by about 3:15 p.m. EST and drive 30 minutes to Jasper-Pulaski's Goose Pasture viewing area, 5353 County Road 1650 W., Medaryville, getting there by about 4 p.m. EST. They’ll stay until sunset. Dinner plans will be made on the trip.

For questions, call or text Carol Goodall at 574-276-7249 or email her at fieldtrips@sbeaudubon.org.

Learn about native prairies

Learn about the history of native prairies in the Midwest and efforts to restore them, including preserves in our area, in a free talk by Chikaming Open Lands Executive Director Ryan Postema at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 6 at the New Buffalo Township Library, 33 N. Thompson St. in downtown New Buffalo.

Find columnist Joseph Dits on Facebook at SBTOutdoorAdventures or 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Audubon makes sandhill crane trip and DIY events for nature holiday