The Northlake Nature Center, a 400-acre nature preserve east of Mandeville, offers nature-related, educational, and healthy, active lifestyle programs for the public and student groups. With over eight miles of hiking and biking trails, and a canoe launch free for public use, the preserve is a respite on the edge of a wildlife refuge and a top birding site along the Mississippi flyway. Open 7 days a week from dawn to dusk. Bring a snack or lunch to enjoy a picnic before or after some of these events. Boardwalk events are stroller and wheelchair accessible.

Educational programs repeat each month, including: group bike rides, dog walks and guided hikes, Kundalini yoga, line dancing classes, guided canoe trips on nearby Bayou Castine, nighttime hikes with a marshmallow roast, and reading/walking groups, a partnership with the St. Tammany Parish Public Library. Most programs are free for members or $5 for non-members. Space is very limited and reservations are required for most activities. All visitors are expected to wear a mask and keep a safe distance from others. Stay safe so they can stay open!

SCHEDULE (scroll down for details):

• Nature Walk & Titivation - 10:00 a.m. March 1
  
• Kundalini Yoga - TBA
  
• Line Dancing - 6 p.m. March 6
  
• Dog Wag and Walk - 8 a.m. TBA
  
• Bicycling the Back Trails - 9 a.m. TBA
  
• Moonlight Hike and Snow and Ice - TBA
  
• Moonlight Hike and Marshmallow Melt - TBA
  
• Walk in the Woods/Medicinal Plans/Plant ID - 9:00 a.m. March 25
  
• Canoeing the Bayou with Canoe and Trail Adventures - 9 a.m.-12 p.m. TBA
  
• Bats with Dr. Craig Hood - 6 p.m. TBA
  
• Storywalk! - 10 a.m.-3 p.m. TBA
  
• Adult Storywalk - 11 a.m.-4 p.m. March 25
  
• All About Nature Book Club - 12 p.m. TBA
  
• Great Louisiana BirdFest: "Bayou and Canals of the Manchac Swamp" - 6:30 a.m.-12 p.m. April 21 at Joyce Wildlife Area

TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT:
Call Rue McNeill at (985) 626-1238 or email Rue@NorthlakeNature.org.

Most programs are free for members or $5 for non-members. Space is very limited and reservations are required for most activities. All visitors are expected to wear a mask and keep a safe distance from others. Stay safe so they can stay open.

MONTHLY PROGRAMS:

Nature Walk and Titivation
Smell the clean air and hear the birds rejoice as you visit swamps, ponds, bayous, hardwoods forests and pineland habitats! Reserve a lopper to spruce up the trails with your trail trimming techniques even more! Cherish the beauty, give your healthy lifestyle a jump-start and titivate yourself and your community while supporting the Northlake Nature Center! Enjoy a 2 hour walk in the woods and light exercise in the healthy outdoors. Loppers are limited, reserve yours today.

Dog Wag and Walk
with Sam
Take a guided walk through the trails with your 4-legged companion experiencing the joy of traversing the trail network for plenty of tail wagging, sniffing and socialization. Water and bowl recommended, leash and friendly 4-legged required. Free for members; Non-members-$5.00. Limited space available. Registration required.

Moonlight Hike & Marshmallow Melt or Snow & Ice
Ever wondered what the Northlake Nature Center would be like at night? What would you hear, what would you see, and what would you smell? Take a quiet walk under the full moon and find out! Bring your own flashlight and enjoy an old fashioned marshmallow roast, October to April, or a sno-ball, May to September. Space is limited. Reservations required. Free for members, non-members, $5.

Biking the Back Trails and Tips to Trail Riding
with David Moeller, owner, The Bike Path
David will share his life-time passion and expertise with tips to riding the trails for the biking enthusiast and guide you through the back trails of the Northlake Nature Center’s 8+ miles of pure nature landscape delight! Explore the back trails and discover why trail riding is becoming an exciting alternative to bike riding the pavement. Helmet required, mountain bike or wide tires recommended. Space is limited, reservations required. Free for members, $5 non-members.

Canoeing on Castine Bayou
with Canoe and Trail Adventures
Enjoy a three hour paddling outing in a canoe for two/family. Guide Byron Almquist, a long-time paddling guide and Louisiana Master Naturalist, will discuss and describe the habitats and history of the bayou and provide paddling instructions, if desired. Bayou Castine is a Louisiana “natural and scenic stream” which flows past the Northlake Nature Center, through forested high ground, transitions to a mixed cypress swamp and then past marshes and marinas before emptying into Lake Pontchartrain.

• $40 for one paddler; $70 for two adults, free for up to 2 children (11 or younger) (member rate)
• Additional $5 per person for non-members
• Meeting point given at time of registration
• Weight limit 240 lbs
• Masks must be worn at launch site
• Limited space available. Registration required.
  

Kundalini Yoga
with Sally Dunn
Kundalini Yoga is an active form of meditation using postures, breath and mantras. It is a yoga that practices meditation and movement to achieve a sense of spiritual, emotional and physical wellbeing. It is easy and fun, students leave with a feeling of happiness and peace. Sally has studied under the late Yogi Bhajan for Kundalini yoga, Khentral Rinpoche in the practice of Dharma and S.N. Goenka in the practice of Vipassana meditation for over a decade. Bring your own yoga mat and dress for the outdoor weather under the pavilion at the Northlake Nature Center! Space is limited. Reservations required.

Line Dancing in the Pavilion
with Jeanne Schramm
Get your dancing shoes on and get ready to learn some new steps or rekindle the old! Free for Members; $5 for non-members. Limited space so register soon.

Walk in the Woods / Medicinal Plants / Plant I.D.
with Rue McNeill and Kelly McGee
On a guided hike through the diverse ecosystem at the 400 acre Northlake Nature Center in Mandeville, you will discover the many varieties of our native plants. The “Four Seasons” Tree ID Program aims to enable participants to identify native trees and shrubs year round. Each session highlights seasonal features which are often unique to individual species. Kelly will point out medicinals along the way, while Rue shares her love of trees and the uniqueness of each species. Some classes follow with a hands-on class of tincture-making with native plants by Kelly.  Space is limited. Reservations required. Free for members; non-members, $5.

Bats / Bat Walk & Talk
with Dr. Craig Hood
Join Dr. Craig Hood, Loyola University Biology and Environment professor, to learn and explore the bats living in and flying about the Northlake Nature Center. Dr. Hood is a bat biologist who has studied bats throughout the world and over the past 25 years has been documenting the bat species that live in SE Louisiana, including the first scientific studies of bats at Jean Lafitte National Park. He is currently deploying a network of bat monitoring stations across SE Louisiana to discover and monitor our regional bat populations and several are at the NNC.
The class will meet at the pavilion for a demonstration of electronic bat detectors, then do a “Bat Walk and Talk” on the boardwalk “listening” and watching for the bats that fly by.   

Adult Storywalk!
Co-presented by St. Tammany Parish Public Library
Walk the boardwalk trail and read excerpts from over 30 books that the "All About Nature” book club has read. Get inspired and pick up any of the books at the St. Tammany Parish Library on Girod.

Storywalk!
Co-presented by St. Tammany Parish Public Library
Walk the trailswhile reading an interactive story along the way! No reservations required. Free to the public.

Breakfast Club
Readings with Bev Chase
Start the day with inspiring sunrise readings about nature while sipping your morning coffee with new friends amongst Cyprus knees, Spanish moss, and other exotic Louisiana wildlife by the bayou. Bev Chase, moderator of NNC's book club, will read excerpts from books that the “All About Nature” book club has read. Reservation required. Free for Members, Non-members-$5.

All About Nature Book Club
with Bev Chase
The book club meets to discuss the book of the month. Call or email for information on the current book being discussed. Bring your lunch and meet at the picnic tables by the pavilion. Books are available at the St. Tammany Parish Library. Free for Members, Non-members-$5.

Support the Northlake Nature Center through sponsorships or memberships at NorthlakeNature.org/Memberships.

*Northlake Nature Center is looking for a small group to host the Moonlight Hike events by making a campfire and preparing the marshmallow sticks, and guide one caboose for the trail walk. Please call Rue McNeill at (985) 626-1238 or email Rue@northlakenature.org.

Photos provided by Northlake Nature Center, LouisianaNorthshore.com and @chelsywiley via Instagram.