Oakland Mills Nature Center seeking hikers and donations

Looking for something fun to do during the winter break? Need something to do outdoors with the kids? How about a fun hike through nature to set things right for the New Year?

How about some fun in the sun this holiday season? Look no further than the Oakland Mills Nature Center and the Henry County Conservation Department in Mt. Pleasant. Located at 2593 Nature Center Drive, the complex is host to a self-guided hikes, which are popular during the summer months, and will be happening this year on Dec. 30-Jan. 3.

“The off-season hike takes about 30 minutes to complete, depending on how long you take at each of the stops along the way,’ said Naturalist Danika Cox. “You start at Turtle Town, located at the back of the Nature Center, and you pick up a kit which will give you everything you need to know as far as where to go next, and then you proceed through the park following the signs.

“There are fun little tidbits of information and something fun for the kids to do along the way, too. Things like ‘I Spy’ or trivia are set up along the trail.”

Along the trail, you can learn about the Skunk River Valley and the various plants and animals in the area.

Home to live and permanently disabled animals, Oakland Mills County Park is also asking for donations to assist in feeding their confined animals.

The animals have disabilities which prevent them from being released back into the wild. The barred owls, red-tailed hawk, rough-legged hawk and red fox are dependent on hand feeding of chickens and mice. The barred owls alone eat six chickens and four mice per day.

“We have two ways that people can donate to us,” Cox said. “They can donate to us in general, by donating to the Live Animal Fund. Or they can sponsor a specific animal, and that way they can have their name added to the animal’s sign, posted in the newsletter and mentioned every time that the animal is used at a program.”

Although the animals located in the indoor display are not currently being shown, the Nature Center is closed for the season – it is open from mid-April to mid-October – they still need assistance with food and medical bills.

Sponsorship categories can vary and can be arranged with the Henry County Conservation Department.

“The funds are used for all the ways that we care, either for food, medical or vet bills,” Cox said. “We can use the funds for enrichment purposes as well, to make sure that our animals are happy where they are.”

For more information on donations and sponsorship, contact Henry County Conservation at 319-986-5067. Office hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

“None of the animals that we have can be released, because most of the ones that we have were surrendered to us for various reasons. They were either pets or injured and can no longer be released into the wild. We take them and use them as educational animals, which happens to be the case for many of the snakes that we have,” explained Cox. “Snakes are excellent education animals. The raptors all have some sort of injury, they have partial wing amputations, and we cannot release them because they are unable to fly.”

There is a red fox on site as well, and according to Cox.

“She came to us from rehab, she had 90 percent of her body damaged by a fire,” Cox said. “She also sustained lung damage and because of this, she cannot do the things that a fox needs to do in the wild to survive.”