SPRING WINGS
celebrating all things with wings

May 2, 2026 from 10am - 2pm

LEE TARTT NATURE PRESERVE Grenada Historic District

Spring is for the birds, bees and butterflies! Join us as we celebrate creativity, community and the return of migrating songbirds, emerging butterflies and caterpillars with their host plants.

FREE ADMISSION FOR ALL AGES

ACTIVITIES
- Experience real raptors with Magnolia Wildlife Rehabilitation, live reptiles with the MS Museum of Natural History &
- Paddle in kayaks & canoes through Chakchiuma Swamp with naturalist guides
- Walk with local naturalists on short guided hikes focused - plants, birds, butterflies,
plant medicine, swamp ecology, native plants
- Hunt like a Hawk scavenger hunt
- Explore your creative side with art activities led by local artist Yolande VanHeerden and Scout troops
- Meet and watch visual artists and musicians create on location
- Walk the storybook trail Cypress Knees and Tupelo Trees by Cathy Melvin. - Learn about Chakchiuma Culture and their relationship to land with Jack Green And Jeanette Stone

SHOP
Swamp Swag & Merch - t-Shirts, tumblers, books, Swamp Songs / an album about Chakchiuma Swamp by Sally Vee and more
Native Plants / Camp Creek Natives
Herbal products by Living Legacy / Bella Royal
Nature Activity Kits & mini Nature Themed Escape Room / OutsideIN MS
Bird Photography and candles / Brent & Tiffany McDaniel

GUIDED NATURE EXPERIENCES
Walks and paddles from 10:30 - 1 :30

YOU MUST SIGN UP FOR A TIME SLOT FOR A PADDLING TOUR! space is limited
What to expect:
- 20 minutes at a slow pace for paying attention and asking questions
- No special shoes or gear required
- All Activities are for all ages and experience levels

You’re invited! to the first FREE workshop in our Mississippi Beginning Birder Series! 

Feb 14, 2026 10 am at Lee Tartt Nature Preserve in downtown Grenada, MS

‘Birding’ – or the observation of birds in their natural habitats as a hobby – has become one of the most popular outdoor activities. If you, like so many others, are taking a new interest in birds and looking for help getting started, come develop your skills at a Beginning Birder workshop. 

We’ll discuss terminology, field guides and popular apps (bring your phone!), birding safely, and choosing, using and adjusting binoculars, with loaner binoculars provided (or bring your own if you have them). We’ll then spend time outdoors to identify resident birds – and visitors migrating through – using the tools that you’ll now have. 

The class is limited to the first 20 people who register

We will follow up with you via email as the workshop date approaches.

Let's go birding together!

Friends of Chakchiuma Swamp presents

The Enchanted Forest

A community +  artist collaboration celebrating nature and imagination 

Saturday, November 2, 2024 4pm - 8pm

Lee Tartt Nature Preserve   Grenada, MS
Purchase Tickets at the gate or friends-of-cs.org

$10 admission    5 & under FREE

This project utilizes art and play to amplify the wonders of nature and a sense of community.

VISION:

This creative placemaking project invites people of all ages and backgrounds to celebrate native Mississippi wildlife and the imagination!

The Enchanted Forest Event opens to the public during twilight hours on November 2, 2024. The trails feature fantastic beasts and other magical elements created by a collaboration of artists and community members during workshops conducted in the summer and fall of 2024. Colored lighting and creative activities add to the fun along the trails at Lee Tartt Nature Preserve.

The Main Event space invites people to gather and interact with a big fire pit, themed selfies stations, mysterious natural ephemera and the Green Dragon Apothecary

Nature at Night

August 16, 2024

7:30 - 9:30

Join us for a FREE Family-Friendly evening of night time adventures at Lee Tartt Nature Preserve

Event Includes:

• Mist Netting for Bats

• Backlighting for Bugs

• Stalking for Spiders

Bring: Chair, flashlight, water bottle, bug spray

The event will be led by Becky Rosamond and Amber Floyd of the Mississippi Bat Working Group & spider biologists, Gail Stratton and Pat Miller

Contact:

friends.of.cs.org@gmail.com

A FREE program for all ages sponsored by Friends of Chakchiuma Swamp. No registration required.

Night time in a swamp is full of life including Bats, spiders and moths. Join us for a family friendly evening of night time adventures at Lee Tartt Nature Preserve as we explore creatures of the night in Chakchiuma Swamp.

This Mississippi Bat Working Group will be on site with mist nets designed to catch bats to be identified, weighed and released. The evening features stories and cool facts about bats as we wait for the bats to fly.

The evening also includes guided walks in search of spiders and insects with experts Gail Stratton and Pat Miller. There will also be sheets lit up with UV lights to attract moths and other insects. All this accompanied by the magical sounds of night time in a swamp.

Bring:

Chair, headlamp / flashlight, water bottle (cold water will be provided!), close toed shoes are recommended.

NOTE: There are no restroom facilities on location.

Enjoy a Saturday morning focused on mushrooms in the forests at Lee Tartt Nature Preserve with mushroom expert Dr. Jason Hoeksema. Learn more about the mysterious world of fungi found in the bottomland hardwood forests of Chakchiuma Swamp with guided foraging experience, an interpretive talk on fungus ecology and mushroom identification focused on edibles with Q & A.

Jason is the mycology professor at the University of Mississippi with a special interest in mycorrhizal fungi. He is the founder of Delta Windbirds as well as a knowledgeable ornithologist and his camp stove culinary skills are not to be missed! 

Want to join in on the fun? Guests are encouraged to set up your own camp stove if you have one and a frying pan to sauté alongside our demo, and taste your own forage. 

Itinerary

10:00 introduction to mushroom ecology and foraging  

10:30 forage in small groups

12:00 organize harvest with mushroom identification talk

12:45 mushroom feast & potluck

Be Prepared:

• Bring a basket to collect your treasures. 

• Bring a sack lunch or potluck items, portable chair or blanket, water bottle, bug spray (be prepared for ticks) and or Thermacell and comfortable closed toe shoes.

• Some plates & cutlery will be provided, but feel free to bring along your reusable plates & utensils for sampling.

• Cold iced water coolers will be on site. Please bring a water bottle.

Registration is required, $20.00 per person. Class is limited to 40 persons.

Spring Wings

Where: Lee Tartt Nature Preserve

When: Saturday, April 29 from 10 - 2

CELEBRATE ALL THINGS WITH WINGS

Neotropical songbirds and wading birds are arriving to raise families and monarch and other butterflies are emerging to feast on native plants. Learn more and celebrate at Spring Wings!

• Paddle in canoes or kayaks on a Guided Tours

• Explore on Guided Walks with bird and butterfly naturalists

• Shop for native plants with Camp Creek Native Plants from New Albany

• Meet live raptors with Mississippi Wildlife Rehabilitation,

• Paint with foraged flower petals and color a butterfly mask

• Weave branches into a human sized bird nest

• Celebrate caterpillars during a Storytime Walk

• Go on a Scavenger Hunt in search of 30 images of native “Things with Wings”

• Learn about plant medicine from our local foraging expert Ryan Albritton

• Purchase Lee Tartt Nature Preserve and Chakchiuma Swamp swag - t-shirts, stickers, tumblers

This event is sponsored by Friends of Chakchiuma Swamp with no fees for entry or activities.

Summer Discovery Camp  Find your place in the natural world!

Age group  9 - 12 

Cost - $100

Maximum of 15 students

Must attend all 3 days

Healthy snacks, cold water and all materials provided

Students should be prepared for outdoor activities: small backpack or bag, water bottle, long pants (leggings are fine), short sleeved shirt, bring light weight long sleeved shirt, closed toed shoes, socks, hat, insect repellent

Camp Details

Each day students will examine, explore and consider nature’s stories and making connections starting with a single natural material through science activities, nature games, creative projects, primitive skills and hands-on wildlife opportunities! 

Camp Framework Example::

Students will rotate through 3 different focus groups with inspiring teachers and activities each day 

DAY 1 / WATER- frog, warbler, wood duck, dragonfly, newt, beaver

DAY 2 / GRASS - vireo, grasshopper, king snake, turkey, golden orb weaver

DAY 3 / MUD - crayfish, dirt dauber, swallow, raccoon, turtle, gar

Activities may include:

Creativity - natural pigments & tools, nest building, clay sculpture, printmaking

Primitive Skills - fire, cordage, shelter

Science - water quality testing, biodiversity inventory, Tree ID

Wildlife - live animals, animal signs & tracking, animal architecture, snakes, insects,

Games -  Sharing Nature book, scavenger hunt, swamp quilt 

Learn more about the birds of Grenada county and contribute to science!
Join a wide range of nature and bird enthusiasts as we participate in this century old community science activity. Lee Tartt Nature Preserve is positioned within the Grenada County count circle. We will listen and watch birds win different habitats within the preserve throughout the day. Walking the trails is not necessary but is part of the fun for many participants.

We will have a lunch meet up with other birding groups at Grenada Lake Dam and look for waterfowl and shore birds with scopes.

The event is come and go. Please call or text to find our location at any point in the day.

Dress in layers. Bring a chair, binoculars, hat and snacks.

Contact Robin at 662-230-0368 or friends.of.cs.org@gmail.com

COME TO LEE TARTT NATURE PRESERVE FOR TROLL AND DRAGON MIGRATION SEASON!

TICKETS ARE $10 FOR EVERYONE OVER THE AGE OF 5

Purchase tickets at the gate or from the ticket link on the homepage

We are gathering a magical group of artists, local businesses, volunteers, sponsors & wildlife organizations for an enchanted day of creative fun at Lee Tartt Nature Preserve in the Grenada Downtown District. 

Expect to be charmed by fantastic creations inspired by nature. Let your imagination run wild!

________________________________

Professional artists have imagined and are creating a fantastic experience for all ages that will dazzle in both daylight and darkness. Glimpses of migrating swamp dragons and river trolls, Ents, dryads, musical spiders, and other mysterious enchantments await!

Visit the Green Dragon Apothocary for hand made sweets, smore and weeneie roasting kits to warm up over at the big firepit and the costume making activity area to create a mask or head piece from natural materials. Guests will park on the downtown Grenada Square and ride in on wagon. Wild Again In Mississippi Resue & Rehab will have hands on activities featuring native mammals.  

Come to Lee Tartt Nature Preserve for Troll and Dragon Migration Season!

Tickets are $10 for everyone over the age of 5

We are gathering a magical group of artists, local businesses, volunteers, sponsors & wildlife organizations for an enchanted day of creative fun at Lee Tartt Nature Preserve in the Grenada Downtown District. 

Expect to be charmed by fantastic creations inspired by nature. Let your imagination run wild!

________________________________

Professional artists have imagined and are creating a fantastic experience for all ages that will dazzle in both daylight and darkness. Glimpses of migrating swamp dragons and river trolls, Ents, dryads, musical spiders, and other mysterious enchantments await!

Visit the Green Dragon Apothocary for hand made sweets, smore and weeneie roasting kits to warm up over at the big firepit and the costume making activity area to create a mask or head piece from natural materials. Guests will park on the downtown Grenada Square and ride in on wagon. Freedom Ranch Wildlife Center show and tell live native animals and Wild Again In Mississippi Resue & Rehab will have hands on activities featuing native mammals.  

Thanks to our sponsors:

Allison Ashmore, Devo Lancaster,

Grenada Garden Club,

Grenada Community Foundation

We are looking for curious & creative people of all ages to join the Enchanted Forest creative team. Come ready to play with natural materials & learn from our professional artists!

Be a part of the transformation! Come with friends, family or just bring yourself.

Activities may include:

• sculpting big faces on tree trunks with mud and embellishing them with forest findings

• creating miniature campsites for our 8 inch migrating trolls

• weaving HUGE spider webs

• creating mysterious conical dwelling with vines and saplings

• carving jack o lanterns and cardboard boxes into magical creatures

• creating creatures to fly beneath the branches - owls, bats, dragonflies, moths, dragons

• assisting with lighting engineering & installation