For the City Times

STEVENS POINT – Experience hands-on nature activities at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Schmeeckle Reserve in October, with free programs led by UW-Stevens Point students.

The 2019 Fall Candlelight Hike Festival will be held Oct. 25, 6-9 p.m. Schmeeckle Reserve will celebrate the new Pankowski Friends Amphitheater with “Schmeeckle on Stage” programs at 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. Take half-mile or one-mile walks along torch and jack-o-lantern lit paths, and enjoy hands-on activities, free crafts, and snacks.

Two Preschool Discovery programs will be held from 10:30-11:30 a.m. on select Fridays in October for ages three to six, with a parent or guardian. Programs begin at the Visitor Center and continue outside, weather permitting. Each includes crafts and snacks; they include: Schmeeckle’s Creepy Crawlies, Oct. 11, and Falling for Colors, Oct. 18.

Family nature programs offered in October include: Hitchhiker Locomotion, Oct. 15, 5:30-6:30 p.m.;     Snacks in Schmeeckle, Oct. 17, 5:30-6:30 p.m.; Portraying the Past of Portage County, Oct. 30, 5-6 p.m.

The programs meet at the reserve’s Visitor Center, located at 2419 North Point Dr., Stevens Point, unless otherwise noted. For more information, call 715-346-4992 or go to www.uwsp.edu/cnr/schmeeckle.