Fall Bird Banding
2025-09-12 07:30 - 12:00, 2025-09-15 07:30 - 12:00, 2025-09-17 07:30 - 12:00, 2025-09-19 07:30 - 12:00, 2025-09-22 07:30 - 12:00, 2025-09-24 07:30 - 12:00, 2025-09-26 07:30 - 12:00, 2025-09-29 07:30 - 12:00 (America/New_York) and 7 more dates | Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, 2600 South Park Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio, 44120
Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, August 18 through October 31
Meet Julie West at the table near the right side of the driveway to observe migratory birds as they are banded. Generally, the timing is around 30 minutes after sunrise and goes until 12PM. Weather permitting. Free. All ages and abilities welcome.

Hike & Run 2025
2025-09-14 08:00 - 12:00
Welcome the cooler temperatures of fall and join us for Hike & Run, Sunday, September 14. 5k, 10k, 1 Mile Fun Run plus interesting, varied hikes for all skill levels. Register now for early bird discounts.
Five guided hikes of various distances and difficulty available. Check them out on our registration page. https://runsignup.com/ShakerLakesHikeAndRun

Pre-K Explorers 2025-2026
2025-09-18 08:30 - 10:30
**NEW**for our pre-k audience this fall. This new weekly drop-off program gives your junior naturalist (ages 3.5-5) the opportunity to explore, create, and play all while making new friends and enjoying nature.

Pre-K Explorers takes place on Thursday mornings, 8:30-10:30am, beginning Sept. 18th. The cost is $750 per 12-week semester running Sept 18-Dec 11 and/or Feb 5 – April 30. Members receive a $50 discount per semester. Financial aid is available.

Fall Semester: 9/18/25-12/11/25 (no class on 11/27/25)
Spring Semester: 2/5/26-4/30/26 (no class on 4/9/26)

Review the Guide: Pre-K Explorers Family Guide_2025.docx

REGISTER: Pre-K Explorers Registration

APPLY FOR FINANCIAL AID

Rain Barrel Workshop
2025-09-18 18:00 - 19:30
Rain barrels are a great way to conserve water, and using rainwater is a healthier way to irrigate your garden. Join our natural resources team as we walk you through a hands-on workshop to build your own rain barrel. The price includes the rain barrel, diverter kit, and all necessary parts. We provide the tools and instruction. This easy workshop is suitable for all skill levels. Registration required.
$85 for members / $95 for non-members. Members can use code FallMem2025 for $10 off.
Thursday, September 18 & Tuesday, September 23 from 6-7:30 PM
https://givebutter.com/rain-barrel-9-18-25
https://givebutter.com/rain-barrel-9-23-25

Rain Barrel Workshop
2025-09-23 18:00 - 19:30
Rain barrels are a great way to conserve water, and using rainwater is a healthier way to irrigate your garden. Join our natural resources team as we walk you through a hands-on workshop to build your own rain barrel. The price includes the rain barrel, diverter kit, and all necessary parts. We provide the tools and instruction. This easy workshop is suitable for all skill levels. Registration required.
$85 for members / $95 for non-members. Members can use code FallMem2025 for $10 off.
Tuesday, September 23 from 6-7:30 PM
https://givebutter.com/rain-barrel-9-23-25

Fall Guided Bird Walks
2025-09-24 18:00 - 19:30
Guided Bird Walks
ONGOING | Select Wednesdays 6-7:30 PM, Sundays 8-9:30 AM | Nature Center
Wednesday, September 24*
Sunday, October 5 and 19*
Sunday, November 9 and 23*
Sunday, December 14 and 28*
Join a guided walk through the Shaker Parklands looking and listening for birds. The first walk of each month begins on our ADA accessible boardwalk and moves to dirt trails throughout the Parklands. For all hikes, meet in the Nature Center parking lot. Binoculars are available to borrow. Rain or shine.
*The second walk of each month is fully accessible and includes an ASL interpreter.
Free. $5 suggested donation. Registration required.
https://shakerlakes.org/birding-programs/
Registration:
https://givebutter.com/bird-walk-9-24-25
https://givebutter.com/bird-walk-10-5-25
https://givebutter.com/bird-walk-10-19-25
https://givebutter.com/bird-walk-11-9-25
https://givebutter.com/bird-walk-11-23-25
https://givebutter.com/bird-walk-12-14-25
https://givebutter.com/bird-walk-12-28-25

Pre-K Explorers: Drop-In
2025-09-25 08:30 - 22:30
Pre-K Explorers: Drop-In meets once a month on Thursday mornings from 8:30am-10:30am. This program is for children ages 3.5-5. Children must have turned 3 by June 1, 2025 to enroll. This is a drop-off program, so we’ll be asking adults to leave after meeting the instructor with your child. (And thank you in advance for taking the time to fill in the paperwork that will allow us to best care for your child!).
Each month brings a new, seasonal, theme full of outdoor exploration and play. Register for as many drop-in programs as you’d like!
Members: $35/program (Use code: “Member10” for $10 off per program)
Non-Members: $45/program
8:30-10:30AM
Session 1: September 25, 2025
Session 2: October 16, 2025
Session 3: November 6, 2025
Session 4: December 4, 2025
Session 5: January 8, 2026
REGISTER: https://shakerlakes.doubleknot.com/event/pre-k-explorers-drop-in/3118643
Please note – there are TWO variations of Pre-K Explorers. This is the “drop-in” version where families are encouraged to register for a few programs to try it out. Launching in 2026, you’ll see our “semester” set that will meet weekly throughout the year. Contact us with questions.

Trekking Together: Fall Hikes - September
2025-09-27 09:15 - 22:15
Trekking Together: Fall Hikes with GirlTrek Cleveland
Select Saturdays: September 27 , October 25, November 22 | 9:15-10:15AM | Nature Center
Join Jo Rattiliff of GirlTrek Cleveland for our monthly hikes! We invite you to move and appreciate the beauty of nature on these beautiful autumn mornings. The trail will be of natural surfaces (paved and dirt trails) and sidewalk. In the case of inclement weather, the hike will be cancelled, and an email will be sent out. Registration required. Free. Donations welcome. Learn more about GirlTrek here: GirlTrek.org
Registration Links:
https://givebutter.com/girltrek-9-27-25
https://givebutter.com/girltrek-10-25-25
https://givebutter.com/girltrek-11-22-25

National Public Lands Day
2025-09-27 10:00 - 13:00
NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY
Saturday, September 27 | 10AM–1PM | Meet at NCSL
Register at: https://dbwp.org/event/grow-not-mow/
Presented by Bartlett Tree Experts, this volunteer workday celebrating National Public Lands Day will again be a collaborative event sponsored by the City of Shaker Heights, The Doan Brook Watershed Partnership and the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes.
We are calling for volunteers of all ages to join us in planting more native trees and plants and removing invasives at this site adjacent to the Doan Brook. This is our third season of extending this area of woodland and underplanting it with a meadow. A planned NEORSD project will remove a concrete stepped culverted area of the Doan Brook impeding fish passage. This will enable Nature Center Natural Resource Specialists and volunteers to remove invasive vines proliferating along the banks of the Doan Brook.
All volunteers should come dressed for the weather. Tools and gloves will be provided. Families and volunteers of all ages are welcome! Pizza and refreshments provided for all volunteers!

About Grow Not Mow
Grow Not Mow is a community program powered by volunteers like you and championed by the City of Shaker Heights. With this program, we hope to restore and enhance biodiversity in the floodplain of the Doan Brook to make it a better habitat for pollinators, wildlife, and people while also reducing the land area that is mowed. Our plantings will also help to absorb, filter stormwater runoff and prevent soil erosion, and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with mowing.

Native Seed Collection Workshop
2025-09-27 13:30 - 15:00
Native Seed Collection Workshop
September 27 1:30-3:00
Fall is a great time to start collecting mature native seeds! This workshop will cover the steps needed to identify, find, collect, clean, and store seeds for future planting. Help contribute to our native seed library!
Join Nick Mikash and Nick Fletcher to discuss the importance of collecting seeds, answering your questions about how to stratify seeds that are collected, and hiking the trails to find seeds of different species. Registration required. $5 per person
REGISTER: https://givebutter.com/native-seed-collection-9-27-25

Native Plant Container Workshop with Avonlea Nursery
2025-09-30 18:00 - 19:30
Native Plant Container Workshop with Avonlea Nursery
Tuesday, September 30 from 6-7:30 PM $30 per person
Are you spending money every year on annual plants that don’t truly serve our pollinators? Bring nature to your porch, balcony or patio with native perennial containers. Though winter is coming, this workshop will teach you how to keep your plants alive through winter and teach you how to pick the right plants for your location. You’ll also learn how to arrange them for the best appearance. With a little care, many native perennials will return in the spring, meaning you don’t have to buy plants again each year.
For $30 each registrant receives soil, three native perennial plants and a generic container liner. Feel free to bring your own decorative pot (12” suggested), additional plants can be purchased a la carte.
REGISTER: https://givebutter.com/native-plant-container-9-30-25

AutumnFest 2025
2025-10-04 15:00 - 19:00
Saturday, 10.4 | 3–7PM | Nature Center
Join us for a magical evening in the forest celebrating the beauty of nature this fall season! This magical evening in the forest will be held, rain or shine. Activities for all ages and abilities. Food trucks, libation stations, and vendors will have items available for purchase. Costumes welcomed and encouraged!
Ticketed or paid activities: decorate a magic pumpkin, climb the enchanted beanstalk (tree climbing)*, fun face painting and glitter tattoos, concoct s’mores, make whimsical nature crafts, feast on fairy food at food trucks or grab witches brew at libation stations.
Free activities: DJ games and costume parade, story time and making with Shaker Library, and a spooktacular evening hike.
*First come first served. Weight restrictions apply. Best for children approximately 4–7 years.

Fall Guided Bird Walks
2025-10-05 08:00 - 09:30
Guided Bird Walks
ONGOING | Select Sundays 8-9:30 AM | Nature Center
Sunday, October 5 and 19*
Sunday, November 9 and 23*
Sunday, December 14 and 28*
Join a guided walk through the Shaker Parklands looking and listening for birds. The first walk of each month begins on our ADA accessible boardwalk and moves to dirt trails throughout the Parklands. For all hikes, meet in the Nature Center parking lot. Binoculars are available to borrow. Rain or shine.
*The second walk of each month is fully accessible and includes an ASL interpreter.
Free. $5 suggested donation. Registration required.
https://shakerlakes.org/birding-programs/
Registration:
https://givebutter.com/bird-walk-10-5-25
https://givebutter.com/bird-walk-10-19-25
https://givebutter.com/bird-walk-11-9-25
https://givebutter.com/bird-walk-11-23-25
https://givebutter.com/bird-walk-12-14-25
https://givebutter.com/bird-walk-12-28-25

Yard Tool Tune Up
2025-10-07 17:30 - 19:00
Yard Tool Tune Up
October 7 from 5:30 – 7:00 PM
Join our Natural Resources team as we discuss how to properly maintain your outdoor tools. Fall is a great time to do some basic tool maintenance and in this timely workshop we’ll cover that, what tools we use and recommend, and how to properly care for those tools. Then you’ll learn proper technique with a hands-on portion of the class as we apply what we learned and sharpen and recondition your tools. Feel free to bring your own hand tools, such as loppers, pruners, shovels, soil knives, folding saws and work gloves. $9 non-member /$7 members
REGISTER: https://givebutter.com/yard-tool-tune-up-10-7-25

Invasive Invaders
2025-10-11 10:00 - 12:00
Invasive Invaders
Saturday, October 11, 10-12 PM
Join Jess Leibson, author of newly released children’s book “Kit the Keystone” to learn about keystone species and how we can prevent the spread of invasive species in our native habitats. Enjoy a story time and interactive activity with Jess and a Shaker Lakes Naturalist and pick up a copy of “Kit the Keystone”. https://givebutter.com/invasive-invaders
Targeted towards kids ages 6-11. Free.

The Big Sit
2025-10-12
THE BIG SIT
Sunday, October 12 | Pre-dawn til dusk | Nature Center
The Big Sit, also known as the ultimate tailgate party for bird watchers, is a 24-hour period of birdwatching! Attending The Big Sit is free, and no registration is required. Pledges and donations are accepted to support bird banding research and bird-related projects here at the Nature Center. Pledges can be made in-person at the Nature Center, on Sunday at the Big Sit or by email to Julie West at jwest@ameritech.net.
