Hike With a Naturalist

Introducing our Hike with a Naturalist summer series!

Join the Hike with a Naturalist summer series, led by Bennett Myhran, the City Forester for Wayzata, as you explore the Big Woods Preserve and Wood-Rill SNA with your family. These all-ages hikes offer a chance to learn about local wildlife, conservation challenges, and how humans connect with the natural world. Each class in this summer series will feature an appreciation for the season's lush growth, focusing on dense canopy cover, vibrant wildflowers, and the full, mysterious life of the summer forest.

**Parent participation required

June 11: Welcome to the Big Woods (all ages)

On this hike we’ll learn about the ins and outs of this unique woodland preserve. First-time visitors and lifelong enthusiasts are welcome! We’ll be stopping at a number of notable sites along the way to talk about trees, soils, wildlife, and how we humans fit into the equation.

June 14: Get to Know Your Trees (all ages)

If you live nearby, you probably spend most of your days surrounded by trees – but how well do you really know them? On this hike, we’ll talk about what makes these giants so impressive and what we can do to show them our appreciation.

June 20: Conservation 101 (all ages)

Woodrill SNA is home to an increasingly rare woodland ecosystem that once defined what is now the Twin Cities west metro area. On this hike, we’ll learn what makes an “old-growth” forest like this so special. We’ll discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by modern conservation managers in our area, and consider how we might borrow their insights.

Bennett Myhran

Bennett Myhran is a City Forester with a passion for conservation, public policy, and our neighborhoods' forests. With over 15 years of experience in public and private sector arboriculture and horticulture, he has dedicated his career to cultivating greener communities through collaborative efforts and diverse stakeholders. We sometimes forget that even our developed environments are home to an incredible, interconnected network of plant and animal species. Bennett believes that this network can thrive when we choose collective, thoughtful, progressive management strategies.

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