MDC’s Northeast Regional Office announces January programs

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. — The Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Northeast Regional Office in Kirksville is open and ready to help you connect with nature in the new year.

To help ensure public health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, MDC asks all visitors to observe current, local guidelines regarding physical distancing and masking. Participants should wear masks covering mouth and nose indoors and at all public programs.

MDC Naturalist Alyssa Garver has a full schedule of programs planned for January. Most programs require registration in advance and space is limited, so Garver encourages guests to familiarize themselves with MDC’s event website at mdc.mo.gov/northeastevents.  

January programs at the regional office will include:

• Discover Nature: Adapt to Live — Virtual Program
  Wednesday, Jan. 5, 1–2 p.m. — all ages
  Habitats in Missouri have changed. The plants and animals living here had to adapt, or they could not survive. Learn about animal adaptations and extinctions.  
  Registration required at: mdc-event-web.s3licensing.com/Event/EventDetails/181680.

• Women’s Event: Nature Jewelry
  Tuesday, Jan. 11, 6–8 p.m. — ages 14+
  Learn to make beautiful nature jewelry from deer antlers, spend shotgun shells, turkey and duck feathers, and more. MDC will provide all materials. This workshop is designed for women 18-years and older, but girls ages 14–17 may register if accompanied by an adult woman.
  Registration required at: mdc-event-web.s3licensing.com/Event/EventDetails/181682.
• Raptors of Missouri — Virtual Program
  Thursday, Jan. 13, 4–5 p.m. — all ages
  Birds of prey, otherwise known as raptors, are unique from other types of birds in that they hunt and feed on other animals. Learn all about raptors in Missouri from the comfort of home, with this virtual offering.   
  Registration required at: mdc-event-web.s3licensing.com/Event/EventDetails/181691.  
• Winter Backyard Birds and How to Attract Them
  Wednesday, Jan. 19, 4–5 p.m. — all ages
  Learning how to attract a variety of birds to your backyard can be a rewarding and fund wat to make those winter blues flutter away. Join this program in a warm, cozy solarium to learn about Missouri’s winter backyard birds. After the presentation, participants will make their own bird feeder to take home. MDC will provide all materials. Children younger than 16 years must be accompanied by an adult.
  Registration required at: mdc-event-web.s3licensing.com/Event/EventDetails/181692. 
• Wildcats of Missouri — Virtual Program
  Thursday, Jan. 27, 4–5 p.m. — all ages
  Learn about wildcats of Missouri, including the very common bobcat and its less common cousin, the mountain lion, with this virtual program.
  Registration required at: mdc-event-web.s3licensing.com/Event/EventDetails/181693.   

Visitors can conveniently manage program registration online at mdc.mo.gov/northeastevents. The first step in registering for a program is creating an account, then signing up for future programs is simple. Once registrants create an account and register for events, they will receive details about those specific programs.

Families now have the option to link their children’s accounts to their own accounts which will streamline the program registration process.  Once a group account is set up, parents will be able to register their children to an event without having to logoff and login for each individual.  This functionality will allow parents to register their entire family or select family members to an event at the same time.  First, users will log into their account and click “My Group Profile,” then add family members to their account.  Setting up a group account today will make program registration quicker and easier for all MDC programs.

Sign up for email and/or text updates from Runge Nature Center and other conservation news at mdc.mo.gov/GovDelivery.

Events at MDC’s Northeast Regional Office are free, thanks to the one-eighth of 1 percent conservation sales tax. The facility is open to visitors 8 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday–Friday, and trails on the surrounding public grounds are open 4 a.m.–10 p.m., daily. Visitors should practice physical distancing and wear masks covering mouth and nose when distancing is not feasible. 

MDC’s Northeast Regional Office will be closed on Monday, Jan. 17, for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Trails will remain open 4 a.m.–10 p.m.

For more information about programs at the Northeast Regional Office, visit mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/places/northeast-regional-office, or call 660-785-2420.