Grab your loved ones and experience nature together
Beach Cleanup at Pickering Creek Tuesday, June 23, 2026 8:00AM – 9:30AM Get out on the beach at Pickering Creek during our shoreline cleanup. We’ll clear away debris to help the wetland grasses, the living part of our shoreline, grow and thrive. Our living shoreline remains closed to casual foot traffic as we allow it to mature and settle. The beach cleanup will give participants a rare opportunity to explore up close as we clear the way for the grasses to grow unimpeded by the thatch of dead leaves and woody debris. REGISTER
Pollinator Gardening Day Thursday, June 25, 2026 8:00AM – 9:30AM Join volunteers in our verdant and lush pollinator garden dappled with summer blossoms. Help us care for the space to keep it inviting and welcoming to visitors. We’ll do some focused weeding, water the garden, clear the paths and add a fresh layer of mulch. We’ll also add plant labels so visitors can identify native plants they enjoy. We’ll end our morning enjoying the fruits of our labor with a refreshing beverage as we look for pollinators. REGISTER
Summer Nature Journaling Thursday, June 25: Native Plants and Pollinators Thursday, July 23: Shoreline in Summer Thursday, August 27: Mossy Woods and Meadow Views Thursday, September 24: Migration and Climate Change in the Wetlands 5:30PM-7:30PM $10 per session or $40 for all four Challenge yourself this summer to get out in nature! Join Pickering Creek naturalist Mary Helen Gillen for monthly nature observation and journaling. Practice art skills, writing skills, or both, alongside other lovers of nature. Each program will feature a different area of Pickering Creek, a themed group journaling activity and an opportunity to work on a personal entry. All skill levels are welcome. Although we will have some materials available to borrow, we encourage you to bring your own! A recommended materials list will be provided. REGISTER FOR JUNE 25 ONLY orREGISTER FOR THE 4 PART SERIES and SAVE $5!
Summer Sunset Evening Paddle Wednesday, July 1, 2026 7:00PM – 8:30PM $10 per person (6yrs and over) Celebrate summer on the waters of Pickering Creek during this guided canoe paddle. Look out for ospreys and eagles flying overhead. Listen for the plop and swish of fish all around as we glide across the water. Perhaps we’ll even see a ray or two cruising in the creek. We’ll enjoy a glorious sunset on the water before paddling back for the evening. Life jackets and paddles provided. Children must be at least 5 years or older and must be accompanied by an adult. This event is limited to 14 people. REGISTER
Summer Sunset Evening Paddle Thursday, July 9, 2026 7:00PM – 8:30PM $10 per person (6yrs and over) Celebrate summer on the waters of Pickering Creek during this guided canoe paddle. Look out for ospreys and eagles flying overhead. Listen for the plop and swish of fish all around as we glide across the water. Perhaps we’ll even see a ray or two cruising in the creek. We’ll enjoy a glorious sunset on the water before paddling back for the evening. Life jackets and paddles provided. Children must be at least 5 years or older and must be accompanied by an adult. This event is limited to 14 people. REGISTER
Wading in the Wetlands Saturday, July 11, 2026 8:00AM – 10:30AM $10 per person From Glossy Ibis to Great Blue Herons, Pickering Creek’s wetlands are filled with wading birds during the summer months. Following a short presentation, get out on the trails with a Pickering Creek naturalist and see what wading birds (and other wildlife) we can discover and identify. Binoculars provided! REGISTER
Summer Nature Journaling: Shoreline in Summer Thursday, July 23 5:30PM-7:30PM $10 per person Challenge yourself this summer to get out in nature! Join Pickering Creek naturalist Mary Helen Gillen for monthly nature observation and journaling. Practice art skills, writing skills, or both, alongside other lovers of nature. Each program will feature a different area of Pickering Creek, a themed group journaling activity and an opportunity to work on a personal entry. All skill levels are welcome. Although we will have some materials available to borrow, we encourage you to bring your own! A recommended materials list will be provided. REGISTER
Summer Nature Journaling: Mossy Woods and Meadow Views Thursday, August 27 5:30PM-7:30PM $10 per person Challenge yourself this summer to get out in nature! Join Pickering Creek naturalist Mary Helen Gillen for monthly nature observation and journaling. Practice art skills, writing skills, or both, alongside other lovers of nature. Each program will feature a different area of Pickering Creek, a themed group journaling activity and an opportunity to work on a personal entry. All skill levels are welcome. Although we will have some materials available to borrow, we encourage you to bring your own! A recommended materials list will be provided. REGISTER
Monarch Butterfly Migration and Tagging Thursday, September 10, 2026 4:00PM – 5:30PM $10 per person Join Pickering Creek Audubon Center naturalists and participate in the University of Kansas’s widespread Monarch Watch tagging program this September! Witness the incredible migration of the monarch while exploring the trails on the 450-acre wildlife sanctuary. Along the way, learn about other native butterflies and how to support these stunning insects in your backyard or community! REGISTER
Pollinator Gardening Day Saturday, September 12, 2026 10:00AM – 11:30AM Join volunteers in our verdant and lush pollinator garden dappled with summer blossoms. Help us care for the space to keep it inviting and welcoming to visitors. We’ll do some focused weeding, water the garden, clear the paths and tidy garden beds. We’ll end our morning enjoying the fruits of our labor with a refreshing beverage as we look for pollinators. REGISTER
Monarch Butterfly Migration and Tagging Saturday, September 12, 2026 12:00PM – 1:30PM $10 per person Join Pickering Creek Audubon Center naturalists and participate in the University of Kansas’s widespread Monarch Watch tagging program this September! Witness the incredible migration of the monarch while exploring the trails on the 450-acre wildlife sanctuary. Along the way, learn about other native butterflies and how to support these stunning insects in your backyard or community! REGISTER
Aquatic Life of the Creek Sunday, September 13, 2026 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM $10 per person Take a dive below Pickering Creek’s surface (not literally) and learn how to ID many of the common creatures and aquatic plants that call our special brackish ecosystem home. We will then venture out to the shores of the creek, sample for aquatic wildlife using sein nets, and learn how to evaluate the health of an aquatic ecosystem by conducting various water tests. REGISTER
Reflections on Gilbert Byron with Sue Ingram Keller Thursday September 17, 2026 5:30PM – 7:30PM $10 per person Gilbert Byron, a native of Chestertown, MD, arrived in Lewes, DE in 1926 to teach History at Lewes School. Mollie Ingram, a recent widow raising 6 children, rented young Gilbert a room in her home on Kings Highway. Thus began a love affair between Gilbert, the town, and the families who lived there. Though the love never died, Gilbert left Lewes heartbreakingly, in a cloud of controversy, seven years later. He would continue to teach but is best known for his lyrical prose, becoming known as The Voice of the Chesapeake and The Chesapeake Thoreau. He wrote countless poems, essays and novels about his beloved Eastern Shore and his brief but lasting connection to Lewes-its people, the town, and the natural beauty surrounding it. Refreshments will be provided.
The author, Mollie Ingram’s granddaughter, tells Byron’s story and how it intersected with early 20th century Lewes and the Ingram family. The second part of the book is a collection of Byron’s Delaware poems; his love letters to Lewes. Accompanying these poems are the author’s photographs that reflect each poem’s written imagery. REGISTER
Summer Nature Journaling: Migration and Climate Change in the Wetlands Thursday, September 24 5:30PM-7:30PM $10 per person Challenge yourself this summer to get out in nature! Join Pickering Creek naturalist Mary Helen Gillen for monthly nature observation and journaling. Practice art skills, writing skills, or both, alongside other lovers of nature. Each program will feature a different area of Pickering Creek, a themed group journaling activity and an opportunity to work on a personal entry. All skill levels are welcome. Although we will have some materials available to borrow, we encourage you to bring your own! A recommended materials list will be provided. REGISTER