Young people between the ages of 10 and 14 who are interested in nature and conservation can help provide nesting places for loons and owls and celebrate Wildlife Conservation Day. They also will meet live owls and bats.

The nest-building event is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11 in the lower level of the Waterman Wing in the VisTaTech Center. The event is free and includes a hot dog lunch.

The first 75 young people to register will help build 16 loon nesting platforms and 16 owl nesting boxes, and learn about the loss of nesting areas for loons and owls in Michigan. Biologist Joe Rogers, director of the Wildlife Recovery Association in Shepherd, Michigan, will bring along five live owls and teach participants how to build the nests.

Rogers will distribute the new nests in the mid-Michigan area.

Representatives from the Organization for Bat Conservation will be on hand with live bats to talk about the beneficial things bats do. Several environmental groups also will have information tables to increase awareness of protecting our environment.

Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops are encouraged to participate, as well as local elementary school students. Participants are asked to bring quart sized, square, opaque plastic orange juice containers, soy milk jugs or cat litter jugs to be used as weights on the loon platforms.

All participants must be accompanied by a supervising adult. To register, contact the Schoolcraft College Student Activities Office at 734-462-4422. The event is sponsored by the Omicron Iota Chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society.

Schoolcraft College is a public two-year college, offering classes at the Livonia campus on Haggerty Road between Six and Seven Mile roads, at the Radcliff Center in Garden City and online.