You may have seen mysterious vein-like tendrils in the snow before, do you know what they are? Roots covered by snow? Perhaps a symbol left by aliens?  While some lumps are just snow-covered objects on the ground, these pathways are left by small mammals like mice and voles as they hunt for food in the Read more »

This Valentine’s Day, our staff has been reflecting on everything we love about working at Ney. From sauna sessions, to crafting with young learners, and even the little bit of snow we’ve gotten, there are plenty of things that fill our hearts with joy. Over the past couple of months, my personal favorite heartwarming moment Read more »

Right off the bat, you may be thinking, why would I ever put on a bathing suit when it’s below 30°F outside? To be fair, you’re right! It sounds a little chilly…  However, Minnesota’s sauna culture is rooted deeply in Finnish heritage, with sauna enthusiasts seeking warmth and community during colder and darker winter months. Read more »

I want to talk about zoos today.  They were a standard of my childhood, and I continued this tradition with my children.  Zoos come in a variety of different kinds, and span a surprising amount of our history.  Let’s go ahead and dive right into it. Zoos started out as private menageries of the wealthy Read more »

Throughout the first couple weeks of 2025, like many people, I have found myself recalling some of my favorite memories from 2024 and wondering what the new year has in store. In my personal life, 2024 was full of incredible travel experiences from visiting Glacier National Park to driving to Saint Louis, Missouri to watch Read more »

As someone who feels like December is going by so quickly – I also love the slow down of the winter season. If you are looking for some good advice on surviving and thriving in the cold season, NPR’s LifeKit released a great episode called “How to thrive, not just survive in winter”. One of Read more »

We are settling into the season with our annual Ney Winter Bird Count.  This will be our 28th year counting birds as part of the larger National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count (CBC).  The CBC is the longest running citizen science project in the world, with this winter’s count being the 125th CBC.  Our Winter Read more »

At Ney Nature Center, we’re all about growing, learning, and working together to create one-of-a-kind experiences for our community. Every year, we are so excited for the Minnesota Naturalist Association (MNA) Conference—a big event that brings together environmental educators, naturalists, and outdoor lovers from all over Minnesota. It’s a place to learn, connect, and get Read more »

With the temperature outside slowly going down, bears are getting ready for winter. Not drown or black bears, woolly bears! You may have noticed more of what many refer to as woolly bear caterpillars in the fall, but how much do you really know about these adorable insects? There are many different types of “woolly Read more »

Welcome to the end of Spooky Season!  With all of the Halloween decorations that have bats in them, I thought that this would be a great time to talk about these amazing creatures. While all of the species of bats that live in MN are insectivores, bats are also excellent pollinators and seed dispersers world Read more »