Here at the Howell Nature Center, our mission is that through mutual love and respect, we teach people to be faithful caretakers of one another and the world around us. With 230 acres, we offer numerous programs so you can find the activity that best suits you and your family to once again connect to nature.
CHOOSE YOUR PATH
Wildlife Rehabilitation
Saving Michigan’s Wildlife
Day & Overnight Camps
Connecting Kids
with Nature
Experiential Education
A Wild Adventure
On or Offsite
Community & Retreats
An Exploration of
Science & Self
Upcoming Events
- July 13, 2019 - Namaste for Nature - Traditional Yoga (10am - 12pm)
It's 'Baby Season' at the Howell Nature Center, and hundreds of orphaned/injured wild babies are coming into our clinic! We have partnered with yoga instructor Kristen Wesley to host a special TRADITIONAL YOGA for adults to raise money to provide medical care for newborn wildlife. Pre-registration required. General admission; HNC members FREE.
- Start:
- July 13, 2019 at 10:00 am
- End:
- July 13, 2019 at 12:00 pm
- July 13, 2019 Namaste for Nature - Family Yoga (1pm - 3pm)
What do baby animals and yoga have in common? You! It's 'Baby Season' at the Howell Nature Center, and hundreds of orphaned/injured wild babies are coming into our clinic! We have partnered with yoga instructor Kristen Wesley to host a special FAMILY YOGA event to raise money to provide medical care for newborn wildlife. Pre-registration required.
- Start:
- July 13, 2019 at 1:00 pm
- End:
- July 13, 2019 at 3:00 pm
- July 20, 2019 - JUNIOR Girl Scout Nature Art Day - OUTDOOR ART EXPLORER - 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Express yourself at the Howell Nature Center during our Nature Art Workshops! Sculpt with natural object, learn about up-cycling, take photos, and more. All while exploring the beauty of the nature center. This is a fantastic opportunity to earn badges in a FUN, CREATIVE, AND OUTDOOR way!
- Start:
- July 20, 2019 at 9:00 am
- End:
- July 20, 2019 at 12:00 pm
STAY CONNECTED
We want to highlight Emma, our Assistant Program Coordinator, who leads our Excursion Camps! Emma designs excursions that offer campers in grades 6 through 12 an exciting opportunity to challenge themselves and learn new skills in a wilderness setting. She just returned from "Dune Discovery," the first of four excursions planned this summer.
Emma's excursions camps are so popular that they are completely full this year! We are lucky to have Emma on the team.
Timeline PhotosSo....Ransome died this morning. Heartbreaking and infuriating. Let's try an experiment...everyone, open your eyes wide, clench your teeth until you feel your body vibrate. Hold that for as long as you can...how long did you last? 5 seconds maybe 10? Could you breath? Could you move? Did your heart pound?Could you focus on anything but that sensation? We're you still flushed when you finally relaxed? This is what happens to a fawn or a deer when faced with stress and they don't get to relax. They hold that feeling for hours, sometimes days when faced with stress....and it kills them. Plain and simple...it kills them. Deer have 3 choices ... Fight . which they seldom do unless all other options are exhausted. Flight which is what most able bodied and experienced deer do and freeze which is what fawns and debilitated deer do. That horrible feeling causes myopathy. It's a chemical reaction that causes a chain reaction of compromise to their vital organs. Once it starts its unlikely to be reversed with medicine or time. The animal dies. It may happen immediately or it can take several days. So that photo op that was "just 10 minutes" or the car ride with the kids to show the neighbors what you found, all the petting and stroking and talking baby talk to it or the sound of your dog barking at it starts this deadly reaction. I hope that photo or that dinner story is amazing because that fawn gave its life for it. Sad ...and I bet that photo will get deleted in 2 months without a wonder about what happened to that beautiful animal. Selfishly shameful....
Happy #Caturday! Zeus is spending his Saturday morning relaxing in his hammock. Visit Zeus and the other critters in our Wild Wonders Wildlife Park daily from 10am - 5pm. Swing by the NatureScape where you and your little ones can run and BE WILD! Admission is only $6 per adult and $4 per child. Children 2 and under and HNC Members are free!
Something NEW is making a big SPLASH at Camp Wonder!
Our AquaToy obstacle course has expanded, and we are challenging campers to be even more WILD at the waterfront. There is still some space left in our Day and Overnight summer camp, so register today: bitly.com/CampWonder2019
Meet "Blue," the fawn who survived a car accident.
Josh and Kelly were at the right place and time to save this fawn's life. When they saw a pregnant doe that was hit by a car give birth with her last dying breath, they knew they had to step in! Josh cut the umbillical cord and the two took him home to provide sancturary for the newborn overnight. In the morning, they rushed the fawn to our clinic where we were able to start caring for it right away. A month later, "Blue" is growing like a weed, getting stronger everyday.
This AMAZING story was only made possible by the kindness of two strangers, our volunteers who provide around-the-clock care, and the financial support we receive from the community. Donate today to help provide food and medicine for "Blue" and the other rescued fawns.
"To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world." Thank you, Josh and Kelly, for making a world of difference for a little critter in need!
June is peak time for turtle activity, and you may see our shelled friends crossing roads while traveling to lay their eggs. Read below to learn how to best help turtles!
Our *biggest* employee wants to give our campers a warm welcome for the second week of Camp Wonder Day Camp! Have fun playing outside and being WILD! #HealGrowBeWild
Say hello to Frasier, our resident Sandhill Crane, who has been an amazing surrogate dad to dozens of orphaned chicks over the years. He is currently raising two chicks, both of which were orphaned and would not have survived without intervention. He is teaching them everything there is to know about being a crane, and is a wonderfully protective and caring father.
Donate today to help provide food, medicine and care for these chicks, as well as the hundreds of other injured and orphaned baby animals in our clinic. Help us help them. Thank you for being a hero for wildlife!
A wet and chilly Saturday morning? Some of us, like the ferrets, are choosing to stay in bed! 😴
(📸: Steph B.)
