With his son Harrison, 3, on his shoulders, Noah Zajac of Prospect leads friends on a hike at Jennings Environmental Center. The center hosted a self-guided tree identifying walkabout Saturday as part of it's COVID-19-safe program offering.

With many restrictions still in place on indoor gatherings and several outdoor events canceled, Jennings Environmental Education Center in Brady Township offers ways for residents with cabin fever to explore the great outdoors safely during the pandemic.

Last summer, the state park began offering self-guided tours as an alternative for those who want to enjoy nature while state regulations closed guided tours.

“With some of the changes to our ability to do programs, but also with people’s various levels of comfort with in-person programs, we wanted to have some offerings for folks,” program coordinator Miranda Crotsley said.

In the four self-guided tour programming events, Crotsley said, the reception has been overwhelmingly positive. Jennings has hosted tours about the park’s more than 20 acres of prairie, showing fall foliage in Jennings, celebrating New Year’s and, now, helping visitors identify trees in the winter.

This is an excerpt from a larger article that appears in Sunday’s Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read the full article.