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Wetlands Centre Nature Nook brings the fun of the outdoors inside

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By Audrey Posten, Times-Register

A new space at the Driftless Area Wetlands Centre in Marquette will help visiting kids learn even more about the natural areas around the facility and the critters who call the area home.

The “Nature Nook” is located in its own corner at the Wetlands Centre and contains a variety of nature books, games and puzzles. Over a dozen puppets—ranging from a beaver and a squirrel to an owl and butterfly—sit around the space.

“They’re all native animals you can find in the area,” said Wetlands Centre Director Alicia Mullarkey. “I like that they’re not just stuffed animals. It makes it that much more engaging.”

Last week, brothers William and Cason Miller delivered a set of natural tree blocks, adding to the list of Nature Nook activities. The family has visited the Wetlands Centre often, both for programming and unstructured outdoor play.

“I wanted to get something that was made locally, and from kids who come here,” Mullarkey said.

Another Nature Nook feature is a large, colorful rug that looks similar to the wetland outside the facility. A reading den, which resembles a muskrat den, offers a cozy spot to peruse a book.

The goal, said Mullarkey, is for the indoor space to match the Wetlands Centre’s outdoor offerings.

“It complements what’s outside and has that same free flow for playing,” she explained. “For example, if the kids see an owl pellet outside, there are some nice reference books to learn more about it. They can also mimic what they see outside with the puppets. If they find something, they can draw it or build it or create what the movement was like.”

“The more they can learn about what they find and experience here, the more it will stick with them,” she added.

The Nature Nook will also be a helpful space for parents to bring young children when older siblings are attending programming. And if the weather’s crummy outside, families can come inside.

“For a long time, it was just a corner with a little shelf and a few books,” Mullarkey said. “It’s nice to have this set space now.

Creating the Nature Nook and filling it with books and activities cost just under $4,400. The Upper Mississippi Gaming Corporation contributed $2,196.59 toward the project and the Clayton County Foundation for the Future $1,000, while the non-profit Friends of the Marquette Driftless Area and the city of Marquette provided the remaining funds.

Mullarkey said she was able to partially equip the space by shopping locally and utilizing local labor. In addition to the blocks from the Miller brothers, many of the books came from Paper Moon bookstore in McGregor, and McGregor Mercantile created wooden signage. Scott Biedermann, whose kids often visit the Wetlands Centre, constructed shelving for the Nature Nook, while local craftsmen Jim Reneau and Todd Blackbourn made wooden storage bins with deer antler handles.

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