Event supports Nature Exploration Area upgrades, ‘Music in Nature’ events 

MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP, MICH. –

‘Painting Nature’ fundraiser April 24

Harris Nature Center Foundation is inviting artists of all ages and skill levels to a virtual fundraiser, Painting Nature: Tyco the Turtle.

Registrants can paint a Tyco masterpiece on an 11×14 canvas alongside a professional artist via an interactive Zoom event, 4-6 p.m., Saturday, April 24, or receive a link to the recorded session to paint when convenient.

Painting kits are $40 each; brushes are an additional $6.

Proceeds will support Meridian Township’s Harris Nature Center: upgrades to the Nature Exploration Area, a playscape for kids; and two 2021 “Music in Nature” public events. The foundation works to enrich the HNC visitor experience.

During the Zoom session, Harris Nature Center staff will answer questions about the center, its resident wildlife including Tyco, and the new handicapped-accessible nature and wildlife observation deck

To register, visit www.paintyourpoison.com/events/2021/hnc. Deadlines are April 17, for mailed kits and April 21 for kits to be picked up at locations within Meridian Township. For more information, call 517.220.0058 or email info@paintyourpoison.com.

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Harris Nature Center Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that garners broad community involvement and long-term support of the Harris Nature Center. The foundation funds programs, exhibits and capital improvements to enrich visitor experience. It was founded by Meridian Township in 2006. For more information, visit www.hncfoundation.org.

Harris Nature Center, 3998 Van Atta Rd., Okemos, comprises 48 acres of a larger Meridian Township park called Meridian Riverfront Park. HNC offers environmental activities and outdoor recreation opportunities that focus on protecting, promoting and interpreting the Red Cedar River. The Harris Nature Center building provides interpretive exhibits, live Michigan animal displays, nature murals by local artists and environmental programs for schools and the public. Park amenities include a half-mile paved trail, several miles of natural trails, the Nature Exploration Area where people can intuitively interact with nature, and a newly constructed pavilion. Also new is a handicapped-accessible observation deck with three commercial binocular stands that offers unobtrusive views of nature and wildlife.

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Photo caption:

Harris Nature Center Coordinator Kati Adams and Tyco the Eastern Box Turtle reveal the canvas design for HNC Foundation’s virtual painting fundraiser. Behind is the 6-foot-tall, climbable turtle sculpture within the center’s Nature Exploration Area.