Butterfly House and Garden Tours (by appointment only!)

Saturday, August 22, 2020 - 09:30 to 15:30

We are offering four tours on Saturday, August 22: 9:30-10:30am, 11am-noon, 1-2pm, 2:30-3:30pm.

The tours are by appointment only and limited to five participants who agree to follow the Covid-19 protocol detailed below. Please contact Nellie (nell.ostow@gmail.com) to make a reservation.

On tour days, the Butterfly House will have temporary, wild-caught butterfly visitors for you to see up close. Most of these will be returned to the wild after a few days in the butterfly house, and we will only be bringing in common species. Every tour, there will be a different group of butterflies. During the tour, you will have an opportunity to watch them nectar on the colorful flowers, to learn about their life, and how to distinguish some of the common butterfly species.

The Native Plant Garden currently is home to approximately 100 species of native plants. We have labeled more than 60 of them, so you can easily find the ones you are interested in (see list of labeled plants). Of course, not all of them will be in bloom when you visit! But we are happy to show  you around and describe how each of the garden sections has been created.

Finally, we have a selection of potted native wildflowers which you can bring to your own garden in exchange for a suggested donation of $5/small pot to support our native plant propagation efforts. Currently, small plants (not yet flowering!) of the following species are available: Blazing Star, Oxeye Sunflower, Purple Coneflower, Showy Goldenrod, Lance-leaved Coreopsis, New York Ironweed, Narrow-leaved Mountain Mint, Great Blue Lobelia, Blue Vervain, Lavender Hyssop, and Black-eyed Susan. If you are interested in picking up plants without participating in one of the scheduled tours, please contact FEP Botany Intern (and Native Plant Nursery Manager) Ellen (escheid@iu.edu) to coordinate plant pickup.

If you would like to make an appointment for one of the guided tours, please contact Nellie and let her know your preferred time(s). She will then follow up with you.

We ask you to please

  • Self-screen your health and don’t come if you or somebody in your household experiences Covid-like symptoms, if you know that you or anybody in your household has been exposed to somebody with Covid, or if you or anybody in your household has recently traveled to a location where Covid cases are high (please see here for a list of these states).
  • Bring a mask to wear while in the group and be prepared to practice social distancing.
  • Do not bring any children younger than 7 years (we like children, but social distancing often isn’t their forte!)
  • Leave your dogs at home
  • Do not plan on using the bathroom or otherwise entering the Creekhouse (which is currently still closed to the public)

As a precaution, we will keep a log of the visitors in case contact tracing becomes necessary.