Coffee with a Naturalist

The Crawfordsville District Public Library invites you to our Coffee with a Naturalist program on Saturday, November 16th at 10:00 am. This event will be in the Donnelley Room in the lower level of the library and is a series summary of the year-long Library Naturalist program offerings. Bring your coffee, your notebook, and all your flora and fauna questions to this meeting, where anything and everything we’ve learned throughout the seasons will be answered. If you need help identifying an unknown species of plant or animal, record your information in your nature journal and bring it with you for this Q&A session.

During this hour-long discussion, we will revisit each monthly program, highlight the interesting points, and talk about the importance and significance of what we’ve learned over the past eleven months. We’ll dive into the details of everything from bald eagles to ruby-throated hummingbirds and sandhill cranes, to frogs and toads, snakes, turtles and wildflowers, as well as tracks and scats, feathers and fur, teeth, and bones.

We will even have a display of mammal pelts (furs) from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Fish and Wildlife for a short biology lesson and identification of Indiana mammals and a tactile experience! We will have beaver, fox, coyote, river otter, bobcat, beaver, muskrat, and raccoon furs available to view and touch. We will also have various feathers, snake skins, turtle shells, teeth, and skulls!

If you need book selections on a certain subject or opinions on identification guides, our Library Naturalist can give you recommendations. If you are further interested in identifying nature topics on your own, such as wildlife, rocks, or fossils, we have a plethora of titles for you. On our shelves are the “National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Animals” by John Whitaker (599 Whi), “Mammals of Indiana” by John Whitaker (599.09772 Whi), and “Field Guide to Fishes” by Carter Gilbert (597.097 Nat). “The New Encyclopedia of Snakes” by Chris Mattison (639.39 Mat), “The National Geographic Pocket Guide to Rocks and Minerals of North America” by Sarah Garlick (552.09 Gar), and “National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Fossils” by Ida Thomas (560.973 Tho) are also all great choices for a variety of nature topics that pertain to Indiana. And don’t forget the kids–we have numerous books on all things nature for this audience too in our children’s area.

For those patrons who have completed all of our Library Naturalist programs, a certificate of completion and cool swag will be available at the November 16th program. If you would like a certificate, please email your name to the Library Naturalist at preguntar@cdpl.lib.in.us or call 765-362-2242, ext. 3 to give your information before the program. We look forward to your attendance after this year-long event. The library is open Monday through Friday from 9 am to 9 pm, Friday and Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm, and Sunday from 1 pm to 5 pm.