In 2025, the Lewis E. Wint Nature Center at Independence Oaks County Park may be a very different place. At least now they will have something to remember the past by as on Nov. 9, guests and park employees gathered to bury a time capsule containing memories of the nature center’s first 20 years.
‘We wanted input from everyone involved with the nature center,? Lewis E. Wint intern Jamie Rustowicz said.
Rustowicz coordinated the time capsule effort as part of her internship project from Central Michigan University.
‘A lot of people say it was a great idea. They all can’t wait for it to be opened in 20 years,? Rustowicz said.
Some of the items placed in the time capsule include questionnaires about the nature center filled out by administrators and staff, brochures from both past and present, the original dedications for the nature center and amphitheater, and ‘leaves? of memories filled out by patrons.
Beginning with the nature center’s 20th anniversary on June 26, a memory tree was put on display asking visitors to inscribe their favorite aspects onto it’s ‘leaves.?
‘We want to pass on nice memories to those who will proceed us,? Head Naturalist Kathleen Dougherty said.
The time capsule was buried four feet into the earth and is marked by a sign pole. The invitations to the burial also include entreaties to the exhumation on the opposite side.