Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center will host a series of naturalist presentations during 2011 summer season. U.S. Forest Service Ranger Presentations, which are part of the Becoming a Boundary Waters Family program, will be held every Thursday at 3 p.m. from June 23 through August 25. Nature Walks and Talks will be held every Sunday at 2 p.m. from June 26 through August 28. Topics of the presentations and walks include wildfire ecology, trees of the boreal biome, wildflowers, birds and human history. All presentations and walks begin by gathering on Chik-Wauk’s front porch.

All presentations are free of charge and there is no need to register. There is a small admission fee for those wishing to go through the museum before or after the presentations.

Here’s the 2011 Naturalist Schedule:

Nature Walks and Talks, Sundays 2:00 p.m., June 26- August 28

Take a Sunday drive up the Gunflint Trail and stretch your legs on Chik-Wauk’s network of nature trails. Naturalists and outdoor enthusiasts are your tour guides.

June 26: Wildflowers Wander with Betty Hemstad, author of Wildflowers of the Boundary Waters

July 3: Fire and Water Set The Stage with Master Naturalist Virginia Danfelt

July 10: Trees and Shrubs of the Boreal Biome with Master Naturalist Virginia Danfelt

July 17: Talking Trees with retired schoolteacher and Gunflint Trail resident Kate Kelnberger

July 24: Flipped Perspectives: Take a Walk with An Otter’s Point of View with retired wilderness ranger and amateur naturalist Ellen Hawkins

July 31: Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Gunflint Trail with naturalist and Gunflint Trail resident John Silliman

August 7: Wildfire Ecology with naturalist and Gunflint Trail resident John Silliman

August 14: The Common Loon with loon enthusiast and Gunflint Trail resident Phyllis Sherman

August 21: Wilderness Ramble with teacher and naturalist Kati Kristenson

August 28: Plant and Animal Adaptations for Survival with naturalist Kent Jones

Becoming A Boundary Waters Family, U.S. Forest Service Ranger Presentations, Thursdays 3:00 p.m., June 23-August 25

Join guest experts from the U.S. Forest Service (including biologists, archeologists, ecologists and storytellers) as they offer presentations about the north woods and BWCAW.

June 23: Naturalist Program

June 30: Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas

July 7: Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas

July 14: Significant Relationships: Forest and Fire

July 21: Aquatic Invasives

July 28: Naturalist Program

August 4: Heritage Resource Management and Human History of the BWCAW

August 11: Amazing Orchids of Northern MN

August 18: Geology All Around Us

August 25: Significant Relationships: Forest and Fire

We hope to see you there!