Northwoods Tracking & Trailing
2022-02-26 - 2022-02-27 | Maine Woodlands
Saturday & Sunday, February 26 – 27 or March 12 – 13
The western mountains of Maine in winter are stunning. They’re also home to the densest population of Canada lynx in the lower 48 states. Join seasoned wildlife tracker, educator and Maine Guide, Dan Gardoqui, for a small-group (6 max) experience tracking and trailing lynx, moose, marten, fisher and more.
Dan has led groups in this region for over a dozen years and will provide an unforgettable experience.
Only a few openings remain!

Registration is required. Apply HERE.

To learn more, click here.
Questions: email dan@leadwithnature.com.

Winter Outdoor Skills Adventure Weekend
2022-02-26 | Conway, MA
Saturday, February 26th & Sunday, February 27th

Join Frank Grindrod & Earthwork Programs to learn about specific winter skills, discuss winter shelters — maybe even build a quinzee — make a fire on layers of snow, do “warm” camping, learn ice safety, and track winter animals.

Split up into 4 wilderness skills workshops: 2 on Saturday, 2 on Sunday
Early-Bird Pricing (ends 1/18):

Adult: $50/Workshop
Child: $25/WorkshopChild

Intended Audience: For Families & Adults
Where: Conway, MA

Click here to register online or call 413-340-1161

Family Self-Guided StoryWalk | Caminata Familiar Autoguiada
2022-02-26, 2022-02-25, 2022-02-24, 2022-02-23, 2022-02-22, 2022-02-21, 2022-02-20, 2022-02-19 and 7 more dates | The Boulders, Dalton, MA
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen will be on display for a self-guided adventure from Saturday, February 12 – Sunday, February 27 (dawn to dusk) at The Boulders reserve in Pittsfield.
As you walk enjoy a story about a father that takes his child on an adventure to go owling for the first time on a cold winter night. Wordlessly the two companions walk along, for when you go owling you don’t need words. You don’t need anything but hope. Sometimes there isn’t an owl, but sometimes there is! While the audience of the book is 3-7-year-olds, the content is great for all ages- even adults!
This event is in partnership with the Berkshire Natural Resources Council and the Berkshire Environmental Action Team.
Click here to learn more.
Fo questions reach out to Mariah at mauman@bnrc.org

Luna de Búho, de Jane Yolen, estará exhibido para una aventura autoguiada desde el sábado 12 de febrero hasta el domingo 27 de febrero (desde el amanecer hasta el atardecer) en la reserva de The Boulders en Pittsfield.
Mientras camina, disfrute de la historia de un padre que lleva a su hijo a la aventura de ir en busca de búhos por primera vez en una fría noche de invierno. Los dos compañeros caminan sin palabras, pues cuando se encuentran en busca de búhos palabras no son necesarias. Solo se necesita tener esperanza. A veces no hay búhos alrededor, pero otras veces sí los hay. Si bien la audiencia del libro es para niños de 3 a 7 años, el contenido es ideal para todas las edades, ¡incluso para adultos!
Este evento se realiza en colaboración con el Consejo de Recursos Naturales de Berkshire y el Equipo de Acción Ambiental de Berkshire.
Si tiene alguna pregunta, por favor, comuníquese con Mariah en mauman@bnrc.org.
Clic aquí para saber más.

Winter Survival Vacation Week Program
2022-02-25, 2022-02-24, 2022-02-23, 2022-02-22 | Conway, MA
During February School Vacation
Tuesday, 2/22 to Friday, 2/25 @ 9:00 a.m. — 3:00 p.m.

Experience the Wild in winter with Earthwork Programs in their beautiful forest and fields! Children will be tracking animals, building winter shelters, practicing winter fire-making skills, as well as learning about ice safety and hypothermia. All this during February School Vacation!

Costs: $320 Early-Bird Pricing (ends 1/18); $360 Regular Pricing
Where: Conway, MA
Intended Audience: Ages 8 and up

Click here to register online or call 413-340-1161 for details.

Hornwort Biology and Systematics
2022-02-19 13:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York) | Online/Zoom
Saturdays, February 19 & 26, March 5, 12, & 19 @ 1:00 — 3:00 p.m.
Instructor: Juan Carlos Villarreal Aguilar
Tuition Cost: $175
Hornworts represent the smallest phylum among land plants, with only 220 species. Despite the reduced species number, they have a fascinating biology and hold clues on the evolution of symbiotic interactions and chloroplast evolution. Most of the diversity of hornworts is found in tropical and subtemperate areas from the Americas and Asia (especially India and China). Despite the evolutionary and, recently, genomic importance of the group, the taxonomy remains challenging and little known.
This seminar will provide an introduction to the diversity of hornworts, with focus on the American continents (from Canada to Patagonia) and Europe. We will first identify study the morphology and anatomy of hornworts and discuss last decade studies on morphology, phylogenetics, symbiosis, systematics, and genomics. Then, we will focus on the regions of interest, giving special attention to genera and species present. The participant will be guided through the taxonomical literature available for regional taxa, and the morphological particularities when using the few available keys. To dive into the hornworts, we will explore their great variety, exploring their most common species in different substrates and ecosystems, including páramos, montane, premontane rain forest, and lowland tropical rain forest. This seminar will use zoom for interactive lectures by way of power point presentations. The seminar will provide a deep knowledge of this fascinating group of plants and discover why they have become important and popular in the field of evolutionary biology!
• Participants need to have a Zoom account (https://zoom.us ; sign-up is free). They will receive a secure link to join the seminar before it begins.
• Individual classes will be recorded and made available to stream (not download) for the duration of the seminar by its participants, so they are able to review them or make up missed ones.
Register Here.

Winter Tracking Intensive Series
2022-02-19 08:30 - 16:00 | Outside
February 19, 26 & March 6, 12 @ 8:30 a.m. — 4:00 p.m.
Join Dan Yacobellis with special guest instructor Josh Wood as they co lead this four week series in the Northeast woods. Taken to a variety of habitats spread out through Rensselaer, Columbia, and Berkshire counties, the participants will have the opportunity to see the tracks and sign of most of the mammalian residents of this area written in the snow covered landscape.
Participants will come away with a good basic understanding of :
– Foot Morphology
– Body movements and locamotion
– Habitat preferences and uses
– Life cycles
– Animal behavior
– In-depth discussion on animal behavior and natural history and how the animals and their environment shape each other
– How to combine all of these to interpret the sign we find
This course offers something for most skill levels from novice to intermediate.
Tracking is an excellent way to have fun in winter while getting more connected to the natural world!
Cost: $ 400.00 per person (15% discount if you bring a friend)
10 Person maximun enrollment
REGISTER HERE.

Forest Carbon and Multi-Use Forest Management — Webinar
2022-02-16 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-02-16 12:00 - 13:00 | Online/Zoom
Wednesday, February 16th @ noon and/or 7:00 p.m.
The influence of active forest management on forest carbon is little known for mature oak forests. This webinar will provide an overview of concepts related to forest carbon sequestration and storage in the context of multiple-use forestry. These are concepts that forest managers and woodland owners should consider when including carbon as an objective in management. Further, as a specific example from southern New England, three study areas each with six forest management practices were established in Connecticut in the early 1980s: uncut forest preserves, silvicultural clearcutting, shelterwood with final overstory removal, multi-aged crop tree, diameter limit, and high-grading. This study found that active management practices can provide valuable forest products while maintaining or increasing carbon sequestration. Management also provides the opportunity to create climate resilient forests with enhanced wildlife habitat. Presented by Drs. Joseph Orefice (Yale University) and Jeffrey Ward (Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station).
Note that webinars are live at noon and 7PM, for an hour each, but the meeting space is reserved from noon until 8PM. Your registration allows participation in either or both the noon and 7PM webinar, and from any computer.
REGISTER HERE

Presentations with Athol Bird & Nature Club President Dave Small
2022-02-15 18:30 - 20:00 | Athol Public Library
Join Athol Bird and Nature Club for this series of presentations on our local wildlife and tips on attracting them to our yards. ABNC president Dave Small will be speaking for this series at the Athol Public Library located at 584 Main Street in Athol, MA.
– Tuesday, February 15 @ 6:30 PM – Birds in Winter
– Tuesday, March 15 @ 6:30 PM – Living with Nature
– Tuesday, April 19 @ 6:30 PM – Attracting Native Pollinators
– Thursday, May 12 @ 6:30 PM – Local Butterflies and Planting to Attract Them
– Tuesday, June 21 @ 6:30 PM – Introduction to Dragonflies
Registration is required for these free programs. REGISTER HERE.

Premiere: "Canary in a Gold Mine"
2022-02-13 15:00 - 16:30, 2022-02-12 19:30 - 21:00, 2022-02-11 19:30 - 21:00 | Online
Friday & Saturday, February 11 & 12 @ 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, February 13 @ 3:00 p.m.
Piti Theatre Company, a touring theater company based in Shelburne Falls, has addressed health and environmental health issues consistently over the years through theater. Now, they are about to premiere a new show called “Canary in a Gold Mine.”
Locked down during COVID and desperate to make theatre, Piti Theatre’s Jonathan Mirin turns the camera on . . . himself, telling the story of the mysterious symptoms his life and production partner Godeliève began experiencing a decade ago. Increasingly unable to leave the house and take care of their new baby, the couple contends with the growing likelihood that her illness is environmental – and inescapable. Godeliève‘s severe neurological symptoms are triggered by exposure to the wireless radiation that the rest of society is passionately embracing to connect devices and upload cat videos. As her electro-hypersensitivity (EHS), (a.k.a. “microwave sickness.”) worsened, Mirin found himself compelled to become a public health advocate, activist & petitioner in a landmark legal case against the FCC.
Click here to buy tickets for this Online premiere.
To learn more about Piti Theater Compnay and “Canary in a Gold Mine,” click here.

Webinar: New Incentives for Heat Pumps
2022-02-09 12:00 - 13:00 | Online/Zoom
Wednesday, February 9th @ noon & Tuesday, March 22nd @ 7:30 p.m.
Join Green Energy Consumers Alliance at their free webinar to hear how incentives in MA & RI could help make heat pumps more affordable for you, plus an overview of the benefits of these efficient heating systems.
This webinar will cover:
– What are heat pumps?
– How do they compare with our current heating methods?
– What types of homes are they most cost-effective in?
– How to find good installers
– What questions to ask when you’re gathering bids?
– What are the current incentives to install in Massachusetts and Rhode Island?
Click here to RSVP.
