Overview
On Saturday, November 2, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) will be celebrating National Bison Day at Kankakee Sands and we want you to join us!
We will be celebrating here locally, while others across the United States are also celebrating bison. National Bison Day is an annual commemoration observed all around the United States to lift up the ecological, cultural and historical contribution of the American bison to the United States. The first National Bison Day was observed in 2012, and the celebrations have grown in size and number ever since!
Please bring family and friends to join us in celebrating National Bison Day! From 10 am to 3 pm (Central Time), we will be hosting a FREE, fun and family-friendly day in partnership with our volunteers and partners. There will be so much to do:
- 8:00 am - Early morning birding walk with the Dunes-Calumet Audubon Society
- 10:20 am – Ribbon Cutting to celebrate the new pavilions, signage, viewing areas and spotting scopes at Kankakee Sands
- 11 am – Bison Corral tour with TNC Staff and Bison Rangers
- 1 pm – Presentation by Dani Tippmann of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma
- 2 pm – Bison Corral tour with TNC Staff and Bison Rangers
- 3:15 pm – Yoga on the Prairie session with Colleen Edmonson of Friends of the Sands
And there will be so much to do at your own that day:
- Create a nature-based painting craft
- Check out the touch table of natural items found on the prairie
- Visit with the Bison Rangers and learn about our bison program
- Tour the new visitor facilities, including pavilions and viewing platforms
- Enjoy a short hike through the prairie
- Explore the tractors and trucks we use for managing the prairie
- Visit with our partners at their info tables - Jasper Newton Foundation, Friends of the Sands, Dunes-Calumet Audubon Society, Newton County Soil and Water Conservation District, DNR, Newton County Economic Development Commission and Friends of the Kankakee.
Please join us for this family, friendly fun day to connect with the natural world and to celebrate the magnificent bison. It’s sure to be a hugely fun day!
