Purdue University Northwest, in partnership with the Coffee Creek Watershed Nature Preserve and the Nature Conservancy, will host a “Summer Wildflower Foray” nature walk and on-field workshop from 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, August 5 at the Coffee Creek Watershed Nature Preserve in Chesterton.

PNW Professor of Biology Young Choi will lead the nature walk and provide an opportunity for participants to learn about the summer wildflowers indigenous to the area, and the natural history and ecology of the Coffee Creek, Little Calumet River, and Lake Michigan watershed in Northwest Indiana.

Choi’s primary research areas of interest are plant ecology and restoration ecology.  His work focuses on restoration of sand dune communities, oak savannas, prairies and wetlands in the southern coastal areas of Lake Michigan.  He is currently leading a project to study the potential effects of atmospheric deposition of nitrogen on native plant communities in the Lake Michigan sand dunes.

Funded in part by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, this event is open to the public and is free of charge.  No prior reservations are required but participants are asked to register at the preserve’s pavilion on the day of the workshop.  In the event of rain, the workshop will take place at 1 p.m., Sunday, August 6.  Driving directions may be accessed on the preserve website:  www.coffeecreekwc.org.

Purdue University Northwest (PNW), a comprehensive regional university within the Purdue University system, has two Northwest Indiana campuses in Hammond and Westville. With more than 15,000 students enrolled last fall and nearly 70 undergraduate and graduate degree programs, Purdue Northwest is Indiana’s fifth largest public university.