The 11th annual Mother Nature Festival is set for May 10 at the Lawrence Nature Center, which is located at 481 Drexel Avenue.
The event, which runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., will be held rain or shine.
This year’s edition of the Mother Nature Festival is designed to help visitors learn about nature and conservation. Visitors can stroll through the meadow and visit the butterfly garden, the native plant garden and the rain garden.
More than 20 environmental groups will offer presentations on nature and sustainable practices, ranging from New Jersey Think Outside the Box, the Mercer County Soil Conservation Service, the New Jersey Mycological Association, Solar Man and Students Against Violating the Earth.
The Philadelphia Zoo on wheels will present an animal show at 2 p.m., and Suzanne Luciano from The Italian Bees will offer a presentation on "The Buzz About Honey and Honeybees." Ed Frankel will discuss sharks and their importance in the eco-system. There will be a discussion about the importance of rain barrels.
For the youngsters, there will be face-painting, balloon art and spin art.
Festival-goers can learn how Appalachian corn brooms are made, and Phil Duran will show how a bicycle can be converted into an electric bicycle with a simple kit. Live music will be provided by Eli the Hawk.
The Lawrence Nature Center is adjacent to the 37-acre Drexel Woods property, which Lawrence Township acquired in 1998. The township purchased the 9-acre parcel that later became the Lawrence Nature Center in 1998, and converted it into the nature center in 2002.
The Lawrence Nature Center property formerly belonged to Carl and Lucille Rinck. They built their home with recycled brick from the Trenton Pottery, where Mr. Rinck worked. The Rincks welcomed neighborhood children to the property, where they taught the youngsters about the birds that lived in the meadow.
