MacKenzie Center Picnic

press release:

LGBT Senior Alliance MacKenzie Center Picnic and Outing Sunday, May 19, Noon - 4:00 pm Off County Road CS/Q east of Poynette WI  

The MacKenzie Center has a variety of habitat types that provide a wonderful place for hands-on outdoor activities and learning about the environment. The Center features nature trails, a wildlife exhibit, museums, fire tower, picnic area, an arboretum and more! Several of the trails and exhibits are handicap accessible.

Carpooling, 11:00 AM: If you need a ride to Poynette, we will be carpooling in the OutReach Parking Lot (2701 International Lane)

Picnic, 12:00 NOON: Grilled hamburgers and brats plus beverages will be provided. Bring salads, side dishes or desserts to share. The MacKenzie Center has a grassy lawn picnic area with a shelter to accommodate visitors. This 30 x 60 foot shelter is adjacent to a forested area. The shelter includes ample parking, picnic tables, and grills. A flush toilet building is nearby.

Wildlife Exhibit, 1:00 PM: A wildlife exhibit at MacKenzie houses live animals native to Wisconsin, including bison, deer, gray wolves, lynx, red fox, and raptors. All of the animals in the exhibit were injured, orphaned or raised in captivity and cannot be released into the wild. The animals are cared for as part of an educational exhibit, providing students and the public an opportunity to see and learn more about the animals that are part of Wisconsin's ecological community.

Logging Museum: The logging museum is located in a log home that was built in the early 1880s near Granstburg. Inside are images of Wisconsin's logging industry in the late 19th century, historic tools used for timber harvests and two dioramas depicting logging practices.

Sawmill Exhibit: The sawmill exhibit near the logging museum provides an opportunity to see how lumber was processed in the early days of Wisconsin's booming lumber industry. The white pine log in the display was 250 years old when it was harvested - long before Wisconsin was even a state.

Conservation Museum: Paul Bunyan and his ox, Babe, greet you as you enter the conservation museum. Here you can learn about Wisconsin's conservation legacy along with a variety of topics including wildlife management, environmental health, bird and fish identification, resource management and more.

Arboretum, Sugarbush and Pond: Over 100 tree species are found in the arboretum and some trees are tagged with their common and scientific names to help identify them. Harley MacKenzie planted enough maple trees in the arboretum to create a "sugarbush" - an area where maple trees are tapped to collect the sap and produce syrup or sugar. MacKenzie's pond can be a great place to sit and listen to the call of songbirds, observe the tracks of animals or listen to frog calls in the spring and early summer.