Thursday, September 8, at 10 am is the date and time set for the grand opening of the new Refuge Headquarters and Visitor Center at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge. The public is invited to attend the ceremony and tour the new building that day. Then, in continuing celebration Hagerman NWR and the Friends of Hagerman will offer Super Second Saturday - a full day of free nature activities on Saturday, September 10, from 8 am – 4 pm.
Super Second Saturday Activities at the Refuge, which is located at 6465 Refuge Road, Sherman, will begin with a guided nature walk led by Jana Singletary, and will include van tours, nature talks on shorebirds by Dr. Wayne Meyer, bluebirds by Don Lawrence, and native plant gardening by Kay Karns. A beginning birding class led by Susan Knowles will end with a field trip on the refuge, as will the shorebird presentation. The Blackland Prairie raptors will be on display from 11:30 – 1:30. Programs for children include Second Saturday for Youth, Family Camping Basics, led by Katie Palmer for ages 4 – 10, with reservations necessary for this program only, a photo scavenger hunt for families who bring any type of digital camera, and origami crafts with Barbara Powell.
The Red River Fly Fishers will demonstrate the art of fly-tying and there will also be a demonstration of woodcarving by Dick Malnory. The green features of the new building will be highlighted in a tour of the new building led by Refuge Assistant Manager, Rick Cantu.
The Friends Nature Photo Club will offer photography how-to’s. Club members Laurie Sheppard, Donna Niemann, Becky Goodman and Mike Chiles will help participants who bring camera and manuals learn the features of their particular camera. An interactive program will be available to show photographers the effects of changing camera settings. In addition, instruction on downloading, resizing and cropping pictures will be available, along with an exercise in composition.
The new Nature Nook book and gift shop will be open from 9 – 3. Bottled water, soft drinks and packaged snacks will also be for sale and families are welcome to bring picnic lunches to enjoy outdoors or inside the air-conditioned A/V Classroom.
To make reservations for the children’s program or for more information, call the Refuge, 903 786 2826. A complete, detailed schedule is available on the Friends website, www.friendsofhagerman.com.
Super Second Saturday is open to the public and there is no charge for parking, admission or activities.