The Legendary Lenape program is a summer 2023 series of educational gatherings for children, families and people of all ages taking place at locations around Chester County, on Saturdays or Sundays from June 24 to August 13, at varying times. See report after first session HERE.

TO SIGN UP PLEASE CHECK TOPICS, TIMES AND LOCATIONS CAREFULLY AND THEN EITHER FILL OUT AND SUBMIT THIS FORM OR EMAIL US HERE letting us know which sessions and the number of adults and children.

We will be in touch via email with the people who register to request numbers of adults and children in your party, send you an agreement form, and provide information on meeting places.

Thanks to kind donors the program is now FREE except for a special reduced $25 fee for canoe usage on July 30 (no fee on July 22).

Thank you for your interest in the West Chester Green Team, the Legendary Lenape program, and nature! Here is the schedule of programs:

Remaining sessions:

#8 Feast of the Lenape: *Change in Location* On August 13 from 4pm-6pm, come to Camp Linden to celebrate the end of our sessions with a banquet of traditional Native dishes (including kettle corn!).  The recipes were pulled from the Mitsitam cookbook produced by the Smithsonian’s American Indian Museum and prepared by a local chef. Eunice Alexander will play music and share stories while we enjoy a campfire. We also hope to explore some of the trails along the west branch of the Brandywine. Please bring your own cutlery, plate, and cup so that we won’t throw anything away. We’ll be eating in a picnic pavilion. Camp Linden: 1521 Camp Linden Road, West Chester, PA 19380. See signs on site for parking.

Sessions that already happened:

#1 Turtle Song Session: Join us on June 24 at West Chester Friends Meeting House from 10am to 12pm to hear Chris Applegate from Allentown’s Museum of Indian Culture.  We will learn how the Lenape and other woodland tribes lived where we now call home, Chester County.  We will look at a display of Lenape tools, clothing and other furs, weapons, and a cradleboard.  West Chester Friends Meeting House: 425 N High Street, West Chester, PA 19380.

#3 Eagle Heart Session: On July 8 from 10am-12pm, we will gather at the Birmingham Meeting House to learn about the Lenapes’ lifestyle through crafts and games.  Come hear Lenape stories and try a traditional Native American snack we know you’ll love: popcorn!  Birmingham Meeting House: 1245 Birmingham Rd, West Chester, PA 19382.

#4 Fox Mill/Living with the Land Session: Carrie Hawk, Environmental Educator with Stroud Water Research Center, will lead us on July 15 from 10am to noon at Bondsville Mill Park to learn about native animals and plants.  Come see how species live around us and have adapted to our world.  We will also look at how we can adapt to live with nature, not against it.  Bondsville Mill Park: 1647 Bondsville Rd, Downingtown PA 19335. 

#5 Moose Lake Session: Join us on July 22, 10am to noon, to enjoy a native American themed scavenger hunt and learn some Lenape vocabulary when we meet at Westtown Lake to enjoy this idyllic setting on the campus of Westtown School. Canoeing on the lake will be the highlight of the day with the program led by Tim James, former outdoor educator at Westtown School.

#6 Beaver Creek Session: On July 29 from 10am-noon, Faith Zerbe, from Maya van Rossum’s Delaware Riverkeeper organization, will lead us in a stream study in Beaver Creek at Bondsville Mill Park.  Come enjoy a lesson in science and find all the interesting creatures that call streams their home! Bondsville Mill Park: 1647 Bondsville Rd, Downingtown PA 19335. 

#2 (new date) Wawaset Creek Session, Sunday July 30: Canoe with us along the Wawaset Creek (the Lenapes’ name for the Brandywine), 1pm to around 4pm, and enjoy the beauty of the Wawaset and its natural landscape. We will invoice you $25 per canoe via Square.com. Per Northbrook Canoe: “Our canoes are designed to carry two people. It is possible to have three adults in a canoe with the third individual sitting on the floor of the canoe. You may also have two adults (10+) and two children (2-9) in one canoe.” Northbrook Canoe Company: 1810 Beagle Rd, West Chester, PA 19382. CLICK HERE TO PAY AT $25 PER CANOE.

#7 Garden Bear Session: Join us at the Melton Center on August 6 from 4pm-6pm to learn how the Lenape grew their crops using the “three sisters.” We will also learn the basics of cooking food, like corn on the cob, clambake style, which we will need for our final Lenape banquet on the 13th. Melton Center: 501 E Miner St, West Chester, PA 19382.