Children's Activities
Children's activities provide fun things to do for children of all ages. Nature related crafts and guided nature hikes are part of the fun. Exciting scavenger hunts are planned and interactive learning projects make learning about nature a lot of outdoor fun!
Historical Appreciation
We are a non-profit organization striving to enhance the cultural appreciation of Salinans.
Guided Hikes
Knowledgeable experts on trees take participants through the Lakewood forest to identify trees.
Sustainability
Learn about sustainable practices from Salina organizations, businesses, schools, and restaurants. See what it takes to become more self sufficient as a community from the folks at Prairieland Market and through programs offered by Lakewood Discovery Center. Find out about simple changes we each can make to improve our quality of life from the friendly staff at Household Hazardous Waste, Skyfire Seeds, First Saturday Bike Group, Salina CAREs, Images Recycling, National Audubon Society, Kansas Native Plant Society, and Dyck Arboretum. Often these changes save us money. Experience these great attractions and much more! Get ideas! Eat local food! Sign up for prizes! Have fun! FREE!
Click Here for a short video from 2017
Discover Salina Naturally (DSN) is held at Lakewood Park in East Salina. In the fall of 2012, the festival was conceived as an activity for the Salina Parks and Recreation Department. The goal was to get citizens outdoors and appreciating the flora and fauna of the area. In 2012, the year prior to the DSN idea, K-State Pollution Prevention Institute and Lakewood Discovery Center, using EPA grant funds administered by the city of Salina, held a “Green Fair” on Earth Day weekend (April 21). The idea of that fair was to showcase organizations and businesses in Salina that practice sustainability and resilience. In 2013, the Green Fair was integrated into DSN to offer a larger event that continued with showcasing and promoting sustainability, while highlighting the connection with Salina’s history and appreciating the cultural and artistic importance when looking at sustainability. Each year DSN has increased its variety and number of vendors, and types of entertainment, activities, and food. In 2014, DSN was able to have the Kaw Nation perform native dances. The 2015 event featured historical reenactors from mountain men to the Civil War period:
Exhibitors that promote sustainability through the History of the Salina Area
* Smoky Hill Museum * Purveyor of the Past * Central Kansas Flywheels Yesteryear Museum *Free Trapper/Trader
Exhibitors that promote sustainability by getting outdoors and appreciating the flora and fauna included the following:
* Smoky Hills Audubon Society * Salina Hiking Club *My Bike Kansas, Inc. * Friends of the River Foundation
* Saline County Master Gardeners *Dyck Arboretum * Monarch Watch *J & N Curbside Recycling *Flint Hills Geocaching *
* Friends of Maxwell Wildlife Refuge * Exploration Place
Exhibitors that promote sustainability
* Straw Bale Gardening * Building Performance Co. (resident and business energy efficiency and radon mitigation)
* Heart Land Prairie Cemetery (green burial) * Flint Hills Renewable Energy & Efficiency Cooperative, Inc.
* Salina Household Hazardous Waste * Cadette Troop #20945, Girl Scouts of the USA
* Prairieland Market * The Gardens at Landscape Consultants LLC * VanCoevern Percherons
Exhibitors/Performers that promote sustainability through the arts
* Salina Art Center Salina Public Library * Kindermusik with Melissa
This does not list all the exhibitors that have participated. The list shows what a community event this is.