Category Archives: Nature

Spring Bird Walk

We invite you to join Clay Hobart, North County Land Trust's local bird enthusiast on Sunday, May 16, to look, listen, and learn about the many birds found in our area. We will meet at 8am near our new property on the south slope of Mt. Watatic for this slow-paced guided hike.

Date: Sunday, May 16th, 2021

Time: 8:00-10:00 am

Location: North County Land Trust - Mt. Watatic South Slope, Rindge State Road, Ashburnham, MA

Parking Instructions: Directions on parking will be provided through a separate email after registration as this location does not yet have public parking.

Special Instructions: Bring your binoculars and your hiking shoes! Bring a mask to wear for times when distancing isn't possible.

Space is limited to 30

Family-Friendly

Reservations Required

Hosted By

From Farm to Forest

Formerly a working farm, town-owned Rauscher Farm's 62 acres of protected open space now comprise several diverse habitats, one of which is woodlands. In 2017, licensed forester Michael Barry generated a Woodland Enhancement Plan to manage and enrich Rauscher Farm's woodland habitats for wildlife. On May 22, "From Farm to Forest" will look at aspects of the plan in action.

Date: Saturday, May 22nd, 2021

Time: 1:00-4:00 pm

Location: Rauscher Farm, 29 Clamshell Rd, Clinton, MA

Family-Friendly

Restrooms available on site

Reservations Required, email info@rauscherfarm.org

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Carlisle Community Trails Day Challenge

Walk the trails. Connect with nature. Play Trail Marker Bingo. Celebrate the history of local conservation by joining the Carlisle Community Trails Day Challenge.

Check out our town trails map and select the walk you would like to take. Sign up - go solo, or invite your friends, family and group members to walk the trails at your chosen time and place, subject to distancing guidelines then in place. Print out one or more Trail Marker Bingo cards and have fun matching the nature-themed artwork on your card to the original artwork on the trail intersection markers. Report and post photos of your walk and Bingo wins to #carlisletrailsday to virtually celebrate and share with others.

Date: Saturday, May 29th, 2021 through Sunday, June 6th

Time: Sunrise to sunset

Location: Town of Carlisle

Special Instructions: Go to www.carlisletrailsday.org. Click on "Sign up for a walk," select your walk(s) and enter your participant information. 

Event starts at sunrise, Saturday, May 29 and runs for 9 days- until sunset on Sunday, June 6, 2021. This captures both weekends and National Trails Day (on June 5). Participants can walk on any day and at any time they choose. They can walk multiple trails and on multiple days.

Family-Friendly

Pet-Friendly, leash required

 

Reservations Required

Hosted By

Rauscher Farm and Beyond

A walking loop through Rauscher Farm, Clinton, a tour of the beautiful wooded trails, our new Rail Trail, and landmarks along the way. We have an Eye Spy sheet for families with children. Long-sleeves and pants are recommended -- it can be buggy in the woods! Allow 2 hours for the walk. Bring your own picnic lunch, distanced, of course.

Date: Saturday, May 15th, 2021

Time: 10:00 am - 1:30 pm

Location: Rauscher Farm, 29 Clamshell Rd, Clinton, MA

 

Space is limited to 40

Family-Friendly

 

Reservations Required -- Please RSVP to clebstein@gmail.com or phone 508-612-1156.

Hosted By

Dinosaurs at Sholan Farms–Oh My!

Visit historic Sholan Farms for an exciting Story Walk featuring “Buying, Training and Caring for Your Dinosaur” by Laura Joy Rennert.

Project Apples and Sholan Farms offer young children an exciting opportunity to explore and learn about dinosaurs. Permanent enclosures at Sholan will encase our Story Walk. The book, “Buying, Training and Caring for Your Dinosaur” by Laura Joy Rennert, contains facts about dinosaurs and will keep children engaged as they travel from one station to another. Children and their caregivers can find the hidden plastic dinosaurs placed along the walking trail. Each hidden dinosaur will list 3 facts about that dinosaur species.

Leominster Project Apples is the Coordinated Family and Community Engagement (CFCE) program for our community. We serve young children (ages birth - *8) in our community. We are funded by a grant from the MA Department of Early Education and Care.

Date: Daily throughout May

Time: 9:00 am - 6:00 pm

Location: Sholan Farms, 1125 Pleasant Street, Leominster, MA 01453

Parking Instructions: Please see posted signs.

Family-Friendly

Pet-Friendly

Wheelchair accessible

Hosted By

Bird Walk at Minute Man National Historical Park

Join the Friends of Minute Man National Park for a spring bird walk! May brings many migrating birds to Minute Man National Historical Park, including thrushes, vireos, and bird-watchers’ favorite... the warblers in their jewel-colored plumage.

Some species, like Baltimore Orioles and Indigo Buntings, will stay to nest and others will continue their journey to nest in cooler climes. Join us for a one-mile stroll through the park with Kathy Dia to see and hear some of these beautiful visitors as they court and fuel up for their journey north.

Kathy Stark Dia leads bird programs for Mass Audubon, the Brookline Bird Club, and Minute Man National Historical Park. She is a volunteer monitor for Northeast Temperate Network’s breeding bird survey at the park.

Date: Thursday, May 13th, 2021

Time: 8:00-9:30 AM

Location: Location will be sent to registered participants.

Weather Policy: Rain date of May 20, 2021. Registered participants will receive an email on May 12th if we decide to reschedule due to rain.

Parking Instructions: Parking information will be sent to registered participants.

Space is limited to 12

Reservations Required

Hosted By

Rock, Stone, Boulder, and Wall: the Earthly Heritage of the Fitchburg Area

Join us for this fascinating virtual discussion on the history of stone walls in our area, as well as the Rollstone Boulder.

When he agreed to speak on stone walls for this Freedom's Way event in Fitchburg, Professor Thorson casually asked the public services librarian about the glacial erratic he'd seen in downtown Fitchburg. The more he learned about the curious case of "Rollstone Boulder," the more he wanted to share what it means for the interested audience. Hence, his talk will divide between a general discussion of New England's stone walls and a celebration and lament regarding Fitchburg's unique case of a boulder that Humpty Dumpty could understand.

About the speaker: Robert M. Thorson. Midwestern native turned Northwestern geologist turned Northeastern academic. Professor of Geosciences and Head (interim) of the Department of Geosciences at the University of Connecticut. An expert on New England's glacial landscape, fieldstone walls, and the historic landscape of Henry D. Thoreau.

Date: Thursday, May 20th, 2021

Time: 7:00-8:00 PM

Location: Online via Zoom

Register: Please register at https://tinyurl.com/fplstonewalls.
The Zoom link will be sent to all registered emails the day prior to the event

Space is limited to 100 registrants

Reservations Required 

Professor Robert M. Thorson

Hosted By

Brewster and the Birds: Walking Tour

A young William Brewster and his childhood friend Daniel Chester French explored the rivers and forests of Concord and observed birds - an ornithological interest which later manifested in both of their careers.

An early conservationist, Brewster knew that protecting birds meant protecting their habitats, and in 1890, he purchased land along the Concord River to protect old trees from developers. Brewster’s Concord home, October Farm, became the center of his noted ornithological work. Brewster and his assistant, constant companion, and the first African American landscape photographer Robert Gilbert carved trails through the woods around October Farm, explored the river, and created extensive documentation of Concord’s ornithology and ecology. Follow Brewster, French, and Gilbert’s trails through Concord’s human and ecologic history with a Concord Museum guide. 1-mile walk, mostly flat terrain, rain or shine.

Date: Saturday, May 1st, 2021

Time: 8:30 am - 10:00 am

Location: October Farm, Ball's Hill Road, Concord, MA

Weather Policy: The tour will run rain or shine unless otherwise communicated by the Museum.

Parking Instructions: Access with parking for five vehicles is at the end of Ball’s Hill Road off Monument Street. Please park only in the designated area and not on Ball’s Hill Road.

Space is limited to 12.

Family-Friendly

Reservations Required

Hosted By

Celebrate May Basket Day at The Wayside Inn!

This May Day, families are invited to The Wayside Inn to learn about the 19th and 20th century May basket tradition, listen to a read-aloud about Henry David Thoreau, and take a short, guided walk around our garden and Josephine’s Pond. Supplies to make one take-home May basket and a nature journal will be provided to children participants.

Date: Saturday, May 1, 2021

Time: 10:00 – 10:45 a.m. OR 11:00 – 11:45 a.m.    

Location: The Wayside Inn, 72 Wayside Inn Rd, Sudbury, MA

Weather Policy: In the event of rain, the walking/touring portions of the program will be cancelled. Take-home activities will continue in a covered area at our site.

Parking: General parking is available in one of two lots across from Longfellow's Wayside Inn.

Special Instructions: For children ages 5 and up with accompanying caregivers. Please note that this is not a drop-off program.

Space is limited to 15 children per session. Accompanying caregivers are limited to 4 caregivers per registration

Family-Friendly, Restrooms available on site

Reservations required

Mrs. Coolidge gets a basket of flowers and a kiss (1927).

Source: Library of Congress, National Photo Company Collection

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