NATURE AT NIGHT
Friday August 22, 2025
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
at Lee Tartt Nature Preserve in the Grenada Downtown District
320 North Main St. Grenada, MS 38901
A FREE program for all ages sponsored by Friends of Chakchiuma Swamp
Encounter the mysteries of a summer night in Mississippi with scientists and naturalists!
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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.
The evening features stories and cool facts about bats with the Mississippi Bat Working Group. They will have mist netting stations set up to catch, document and release bats.
Spider experts will share fascinating facts about spiders and lead a spider hunting night hike. Everyone will have a chance to catch spiders in jars to learn more about each species.
There will also be bug sheets lit up with UV lights to attract moths, bugs and other night life surrounded by the magical sounds of night time in a swamp. Experts will lead short excursions into the meadow looking for night life. Jars will be available to catch and release insects.
The event will be led by Becky Rosamond and Amber Floyd, USFWS wildlife biologists and researchers for the Mississippi Bat Working Group and experts from the Entomology Department at Mississippi State University
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Bring: chair, headlamp / flashlight, water bottle (cold water will be provided!), close toed shoes are recommended. Bring a Thermacell if you have one!
Meet Dominique Echols!
2025 Summer Intern at Lee Tartt NAture Preserve
Dominique is a junior in high school who loves being outside and has a special love for trees. He asked lots of questions about the plants and animals we encountered each day which led to conversations about ecology and forestry concepts. He is an avid learner and soaked up everything! He learned to identify key invasive and native species and how their relationship plays into vegetation management. He learned to identify water hyacinth and learned how to kayak all at the same time - removing boat loads from the surface of the swamp. He also learned how to use a chainsaw and a brush ax to clear trees of the trail and open up the forest floor and the backpack blower to clean off the trail But I’m pretty sure his favorite job was driving us to location in Birdy - our hard working golf cart.
We loved having this young man as a part of our team and look forward to his return.
“SEASONS OF COLOR”
wins Best Music Video in the 2025 JXN Film Fest!
The music video was shot and edited by film maker, Jamie Kornegay and produced by Shirley Hamilton with funds from the Mississippi Arts Commission and National Endowment for the Arts. The film features musical artist, Sally Vee, singing her original work “Seasons of Color” on location at Lee Tartt Nature Preserve.
Visit Sally Vee’s website to learn more about the song and its album, Swamp Songs.
Programming is beginning to wind down for the 2025 season at Chakchiuma Swamp but we hope to see you on one of our trails or hanging out on our newly remodeled observation deck. It is in the final stages of ADA upgrades and interpretive signage thanks to a Mississippi Outdoor Stewardship Trust Grant!
The deck will soon have 24” cable railing and stepped seating on the south end to add safety measures without interrupting the view. come sit a spell and listen to the katydids, flycatchers, woodpeckers and more. From the deck this week the Merlin app heard the Kentucky Warbler, Least Flycatcher, Eastern Wood Peewee, Acadian Flycatcher, Blue Gray Gnatcatcher, Hooded Warbler, White Eyed Vireo, Yellow Billed Cuckoo, Gray Catbird, fish crow, White Breasted Nuthatch… just to name a few.
