Will County forest preserves offer weekend group hikes, Native games

Explore Will County forest preserves in November with special hikes and programs.

Nature’s Ultimate Recyclers: 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Friday, Hammel Woods – Route 59 Access, Shorewood. Take a nature walk and look closely at each of the decomposers responsible for breaking down and recycling the dead plant and animal matter in the woods. Free, all ages. Register by Thursday.

Native Games: 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Isle a la Cache Museum. Try your hand at some of the fun games Potawatomi and other indigenous children played in 18th century Illinois country and create a little game to take home. Free, ages 5 to 12. Register by Thursday..

Woods Walk Group Hike: 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Centennial Trail – Schneider’s Passage, Romeoville. Team up to conquer this 6-mile out-and-back hike, the longest in this year’s Woods Walk hiking challenge. Travel the path with a group and taken in the sights and sounds of fall in the woods. Free, ages 14 and older. Register by Thursday.

The Sandhill Crane Experience: 1:30 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Plum Creek Nature Center, Crete Township. This program begins at Plum Creek and heads by chartered bus to Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area near Medaryville, Indiana, where large numbers of sandhill cranes gather to feed and rest during their annual fall migration. Sandhill cranes are one of the most primitive birds alive today, and they cut a striking image with their wingspans of 5 to 7 feet. Ages 18 and older, $35 a person.