Join our Team

Hitchcock Center is currently hiring a Co-Camp Director to join our team of environmental educators. You'd be working with youth, mentoring a team of staff, developing hands-on science-based education programs, and more!

 

Giving Tuesday 2025

On Dec 2, 2025 the world will come together to give back through acts of kindness, gifts of voice, time, talent, or treasure. Please support Hitchcock Center as we continue to educate and advocate for our planet.

 

Read the Earth Matters column

Looking for something to read? Hitchcock Center’s Gazette column has been running since 2009, written by volunteer writers in STEM, the arts, and organizations that champion sustainability and climate action.

 

January Vacation Days

Come play outside on January days off from school for Amherst elementary schoolers! Bring a snack, lunch, water bottle, and come prepared to play outside- no matter the weather! Register

 

Great Christmas Bird Count

Do you want to learn more about birds? Would you like to contribute to science? The CBC is a 125-year old event in which bird lovers of all ages and skill levels count all the birds they see in a 24-hour period in December. Join us this year!

 

Educators of grades 5-8!

This fall, bring real-world problem-solving into your classroom with Hitchcock Center and Wade Institute! In this hydroengineering challenge, students will step into the role of engineers, tackling the global challenge of access to clean water. Learn more and register.

 

With underwriting support for operations and programs provided by:

Calendar
View Calendar

Earth matters

"Earth Matters" is in the Daily Hampshire Gazette every two weeks.

View All Columns

Follow us

Find us on Facebook

Find us on Facebook

Hitchcock Center for the Environment

We envision a world where people, communities, and ecosystems thrive. The Hitchcock Center for the Environment, founded in 1962, is an organization in Amherst, Mass whose mission is to educate and inspire action for a healthy planet. Our programs for children, youth, and families are designed to use the study of science and nature as a means to provide creative inspiration to solve human problems sustainably. Our programs serve to develop a continuum of competencies that begin at the earliest, most formative years and progress through a process of lifelong learning to engender a greater understanding of the interdependence of the environment, economy, and social issues. Our approach to education uses the environment as a classroom and defines place at a variety of scales - the schoolyard, the backyard, the neighborhood, the park, the farm, the town, the forest, the pond, the mountains, and the watershed. In these settings, the Hitchcock Center helps thousands of children, youth, and families see and understand the impacts of our actions.
Hitchcock Center for the Environment
Hitchcock Center for the EnvironmentDecember 5, 2025 at 4:37pm
Hitchcock Center for the Environment
+5
Photos from Hampshire College's post
View on Facebook
Hitchcock Center for the Environment
Hitchcock Center for the EnvironmentDecember 4, 2025 at 5:15pm
Hitchcock Center for the Environment
Are you interested in investigating the climate crisis while reading some great books? Join our monthly Cli-Fi Book Club, held at the North Amherst Library!
This month we will be discussing "Land of Milk and Honey" by C. Pam Zhang.
No registration required. Ages 18+
1View on Facebook
Hitchcock Center for the Environment
Hitchcock Center for the EnvironmentDecember 3, 2025 at 5:03pm
Registration for winter programs for kids and families like Hitchcock Afterschool, School Vacation Days, and Little Bear Nature Walks opens TOMORROW, Thursday, Dec 4. Bookmark the registration page now to help get your kiddos into the programs they want: https://campscui.active.com/orgs/HitchcockCenterfortheEnvironment?season=3732845
Hitchcock Center for the Environment
+1
21View on Facebook
Hitchcock Center for the Environment
Hitchcock Center for the EnvironmentDecember 2, 2025 at 4:06pm
Today is Giving Tuesday, and thanks to a generous donor, every dollar you give by midnight on Dec 2 will be doubled!

Last Spring, as we were completing work on a youth climate stories project, we learned that our $500k EPA grant had been abruptly terminated. We had posters of local youth climate leaders spread out on a conference table. These young people talked about already experiencing climate changes in their lifetimes, and about their worries for the future. In that moment, we realized why our work in developing the next generation of hopeful, creative problem solvers is so important right now.

The loss of federal funding has been painful for us, and for so many other organizations. But when we reached out for support, people like you have made it clear in words and actions that the Hitchcock Center is a vital and respected organization, and that you will continue to support our work and our values.

Last month, we convened again with more than 100 youth climate leaders and activists at the Western Mass Youth Climate Summit in Springfield. This year’s theme was “Resilience as Resistance.” These young leaders see resistance in everything that we all do to uphold our values. At the Hitchcock Center, we are focusing on “resilience as resistance” as we continue our work towards climate hope and action.

With your support, the Center hopes to raise $50k to continue to educate and inspire 13k people annually in communities across the region from Springfield to Greenfield. Donate, support a fundraiser team, or create your own fundraising page for Hitchcock Center here: https://secure.qgiv.com/event/hitchcockcentergt2025/

We wish you warmth and hope on this snowy, wintry day ❄️

#GivingTuesday #MyLocalMa #WesternMass #ClimateAction
Hitchcock Center for the Environment
+2
51View on Facebook
Hitchcock Center for the Environment
Hitchcock Center for the EnvironmentDecember 1, 2025 at 8:20pm
Hitchcock’s staff are the heart of our Living Building! Hear a few familiar voices share their favorite things about the Center- and some details that might surprise you!

🌱 “[Hitchcock educators] try to see all of our learners as whole people.” - Rachel

🌱 “I really appreciate our long history in the community. I feel like we’ve really done a good Job of evolving what environmental education means over our 60+ years.” - Casey

🌱 “I deeply, deeply connect to outdoor education work. The fact that I get to be outside with kids in nature, it makes me happier, healthier, stronger, more resilient.” - Katie

🌱 “There’s always really funny conversations and interesting things to find at Hitchcock Center.” - Kim

The loss of federal funding has been painful for us, and for so many other local organizations. With your support on Giving Tuesday, the Center hopes to raise $50k to continue to educate and inspire 13k people annually in communities across the region from Springfield to Greenfield.

Every dollar you give by midnight on Dec 2 will be doubled! https://secure.qgiv.com/event/hitchcockcentergt2025/

#WesternMass #PioneerValley #OtherSideMa
Hitchcock Center for the Environment
5View on Facebook
Hitchcock Center for the Environment
Hitchcock Center for the EnvironmentNovember 26, 2025 at 1:41pm
Join our Environmental Educators and Jones Library & Branches this Saturday for a Guided Storywalk! ❄️ This event is designed for kids ages 0-6 and accompanying adult.
Hitchcock Center for the Environment
Join us on Saturday morning!
1View on Facebook

Visit us on Facebook

Translate »
Hitchcock Center for the Environment