Hitchcock Center for the Environment

Second Saturday Family Science
2024-02-10 10:00 - 11:00 (America/New_York)
Second Saturday Family Science
with Lauren Dausch
Ages 5–7 or Grades K–1
Saturdays, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Jan. 13, Jan 27, Feb. 10, March 9, April 13, May 11
Suggested Donation: $5 – $30 per family
Join us for seasonal nature and science programs each second Saturday of the month. Designed for children (ages 5–7) with their parents, these programs will explore cool topics in nature. We will be learning while moving, often exploring the woods behind our building.
February 10: Tracks and Traces
While we’re bundled up inside there is still a lot going on outside in winter! We know this because the animals leave us clues! What tales can animals tell us by what they leave behind? Are signs of animals only evident in snowy tracks? Join us as we search for clues and learn about our local winter creatures!

What We Should Know about Knotweed 101 (Virtual)
2024-02-08 18:30 - 20:00
Thursday, February 8
Virtual Event
6:30 pm – 8 pm
What do we need to know about Knotweed, what are its environmental impacts, and what can we do about it? This talk will explore how and why knotweed destabilizes soils, which amplifies and exacerbates erosion along waterways. This impact on soil stability allows us to frameshift this group of invasive plants from a “merely” ecological problem into a “shovel ready” climate resiliency opportunity to protect ecosystems, infrastructure, and private property from flood damage.
REGISTER HERE

Girls into the Wild: Winter
2024-02-08 15:30 - 17:30, 2024-02-01 15:30 - 17:30, 2024-01-25 15:30 - 17:30, 2024-01-18 15:30 - 17:30
Girls into the Wild: Winter
with Katie Koerten
Grades 4 – 6
Thursdays, 3:30 PM – 5:30 PM
January 4 – March 14 (no program February 22)
Fee per Child: Tier A-$314 | Tier B-$261 | Tier C-$222 | Tier D-$170
Limited to 12 participants
Join us in winter 2024 for more romping wildly through the fields and forests of the Hitchcock Center. As always we’ll visit our favorite places to play in the forest, such as Stump City, the Forest Garden, and the Faraway Woods – exploring the seasonal beauty of nature as we go. Play games, make friends, and create nature projects outdoors! Come build your confidence and show your wild side! Any young people with an experience of gender marginalization are welcome.

Nature Play Afterschool: Winter
2024-02-07 15:30 - 17:30, 2024-01-31 15:30 - 17:30, 2024-01-24 15:30 - 17:30, 2024-01-17 15:30 - 17:30
Nature Play Afterschool Series: Winter
with Jeff Mazur
Grades 2 – 4
Wednesdays, 3:30 PM – 5:30 PM
January 3 – March 13 (no program February 21 or March 6)
Fee per Child: Tier A-$281 | Tier B-$234 | Tier C-$199 | Tier D-$152
Limited to 12 participants
Hitchcock’s Nature Play Afterschool Program is designed to let kids be kids. Together we will run, jump, climb, invent, imagine, play and be free-range kids all while developing self-confidence and learning valuable social skills. In Winter Nature Play After School we will explore snowy wooded trails and fields, make snow villages, and sled down the HCE hill. Our instructors provide a safe setting for children to explore nature and encourage children to stretch their limits.

Junior Nature Play Afterschool: Winter
2024-02-07 15:30 - 17:30, 2024-01-31 15:30 - 17:30, 2024-01-24 15:30 - 17:30, 2024-01-17 15:30 - 17:30
Junior Nature Play Afterschool Series: Winter
with Lauren Dausch
Grades K – 2
Wednesdays, 3:30 PM – 5:30 PM
January 3 – March 13 (no program February 21 or March 6)
Fee per Child: Tier A-$281 | Tier B-$234 | Tier C-$199 | Tier D-$152
Limited to 12 participants
Hitchcock’s Junior Nature Play Afterschool Program is designed to let kids be kids. Together we will run, jump, climb, invent, imagine, play and be free-range kids all while developing self-confidence and learning valuable social skills. During Winter Junior Nature Play we will explore snowy wooded trails and fields, make snow villages, and sled down the HCE hill! Our instructors provide a safe setting for children to explore nature and encourage children to stretch their limits.

Wild Children of the Woods: Winter
2024-02-05 15:30 - 17:30, 2024-01-29 15:30 - 17:30, 2024-01-22 15:30 - 17:30
Wild Children of the Woods
with Monya Relles
Grades 3 – 5
Mondays 3:30 PM – 5:30 PM
January 8 – March 11 (no class January 15 or February 19)
Tier A:$249 | Tier B:$207 | Tier C:$176 | Tier D:$135
Limited to 12 participants
We go to the woods to think, learn, play, and explore in this afterschool series for upper-elementary schoolers. We will roam the grounds of the Hitchcock Center as we watch the seasons change in our beautiful woods. We’lll visit stump city, ferns, and the far-away woods, play some organized games, and learn about the animals, plants, and life in these woods, including ourselves.

Girls into the Wild
2024-02-04 15:30 - 17:30, 2024-01-28 15:30 - 17:30, 2024-01-21 15:30 - 17:30
with Katie Koerten
Grades 4 – 6
Tuesdays, 3:30 – 5:30 PM
September 3 – December 17 (no program November 5)
Fee per Child: Tier A-$453 | Tier B-$378 | Tier C-$321 | Tier D-$245
Limited to 12 participants
Girls into the Wild is back in Fall 2024 for more romping wildly through the field and forests of the Hitchcock Center with Katie! As always we’ll visit our favorite places to play in the forest, such as Stump City, the Ferns, and the Faraway Woods – exploring the seasonal beauty of nature as we go. Play games, make friends, and create nature projects outdoors! Come build your confidence and show your wild side! Genderqueer, nonbinary, agender and trans young people are welcome.

Winter Tracking with Kathryn Dean
2024-02-03 09:00 - 12:00
Winter Tracking with Kathryn Dean
Collaboration with Adventure East

Saturday, February 3rd
9 am – 12 pm
Location: Graves Farm
Sliding Scale Tickets: $30, $40, $50
Space is limited, register now!

Join the Hitchcock Center and Adventure East for an invigorating winter morning exploring the tracks and signs that animals have left behind in the woodlands and wetlands of western Massachusetts, led by Kathy Dean of Trotting Fox Programs We will cover track and sign identification, track patterns and gaits, and discuss animal behaviors revealed by their signatures in the snow. All adults and all levels are welcome. Space is very limited, please register now. Adventure East will provide snowshoes or microspikes depending on weather.
Kathy Dean of Trotting Fox has worked in the field of outdoor education since 1983 as a wilderness guide, rock climbing instructor and teacher of wildlife tracking, bird language and nature awareness. In addition to working with several nature education centers, she offers her own Women’s Wildlife Tracking Intensive, Winter Wildlife Tracking Intensive, custom-tailored nature programs and one-on-one mentoring. Kathy is the author of Abbreviated Field Guide to Mammal Behavior: New England Region.
REGISTER HERE

Unpacking the Massachusetts Climate Action Plan
2024-01-31 19:00 - 20:30
Virtual workshop with Steve Roof
Wednesday, January 31
7 pm – 8:30 pm
Massachusetts has a meaningful Clean Energy and Climate Action Plan that quickly and dramatically reduces our carbon emissions to 50% by 2030, 75% by 2040, to net zero by 2050! Come hear from Hampshire College professor Steve Roof about the state’s strategies for meeting this goal and get us thinking about how we can contribute as a region. Registration required, donations appreciated.
REGISTER HERE

Owl Prowl with Dan Ziomek
2024-01-27 18:30 - 21:00, 2024-01-26 18:30 - 21:00
Friday, January 26, 6:30 pm – 9 pm
Or Saturday, January 27, 6:30 pm – 9 pm
Sliding Scale Tickets: $20, $30, $40

Have you been on an owl prowl? It is a special treat in the heart of winter. Come seek out the Great-horned owl on a winter (hopefully snowy) night with expert birder Dan Ziomek.

Teen Program: Collaborative Games and storytelling
2024-01-27 13:00 - 17:00
Collaborative Games and storytelling
With Monya Relles
Saturday, January 27
Suggested ages 11-14
Special time: 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Suggested Donation: $10-$40 per teen
Have you ever heard of solar punk? Imagine trees on skyscrapers, solar-powered hoverboards, and high speed chases across a city struggling to be resilient against the climate apocalypse. Join Hitchcock Educator Monya Relles for a hopeful tabletop role playing game (TTRPG) where your characters will learn how to survive and thrive in the anthropocene.

Saturday Family Science for Amherst Winterfest
2024-01-27 10:00 - 11:00
Second Saturday Family Science
with Lauren Dausch
Ages 5–7 or Grades K–1
Saturdays, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Jan. 13, Jan 27, Feb. 10, March 9, April 13, May 11
Suggested Donation: $5 – $30 per family
Join us for seasonal nature and science programs each second Saturday of the month. Designed for children (ages 5–7) with their parents, these programs will explore cool topics in nature. We will be learning while moving, often exploring the woods behind our building.
January 27: Winter Wonderland
(An Amherst Winterfest kick-off event) Come explore the shimmery, sparkly, silvery world of snow and ice! In our journey through a Winter Wonderland, we’ll discover properties of frozen water, investigating the shapes, sizes, and colors of snowflakes and icicles!

Nature Discovery Preschool Days: Animals in Winter
2024-01-26 10:00 - 11:30
Nature Discovery Winter Preschool Days
With Colleen Kelley
Ages 3-5 (Adult required to attend with child)
January 26, February 16, March 8
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM (Please note the later start time for winter)
Fee per child/adult pair per day: Tier A-$40 per day | Tier B-$33 per day | Tier C-$28 per day | Tier D- $21
Limited to 8 families. Limit of 2 children per adult.
Celebrate the outdoors in winter with your preschooler! Colleen will teach these three winter programs. Sign up for one, two or all three programs. Come prepared for winter outdoor exploration! Limited to 8 families per day. Non-refundable within a week of the program, all refunds incur a 10% administrative fee.
Friday, January 26: How Animals Live in Winter
Friday, February 16: Signs of Animals and Tracking
Friday, March 8: Slip, Slide – Ice and Snow!

Winter Curriculum Day
2024-01-26 08:45 - 15:00
January 26 Curriculum Day
With Alanna Rutledge
Friday, January 26
8:45 AM – 3:00 PM
Grades 1 – 3*
Fee per Child: Tier A-$110 | Tier B-$92 | Tier C-$78 | Tier D-$60
Limited to 12 participants
Come play outside on this day off for Amherst elementary schoolers! Bring a snack, lunch and water bottle and come prepared to play outside, no matter what the weather! Limited to 12 participants. *Depending on enrollment, your Kindergartner or 4th grader may be able to join.

Homeschool Discovery Days: Rube Goldberg Machines
2024-01-23 10:00 - 14:00
Rube Goldberg Machine Day
With Lauren Dausch
January 23, 2024 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Ages 6 – 12 or grades 1 – 6
Tier A:$81 | Tier B:$67 | Tier C:$57 | Tier D:$44
Limited to 12 participants
Have you ever made a complex contraption for a simple task? That’s exactly what Rube Goldberg machines are about! Have fun experimenting with different materials and techniques to make an elaborate and sometimes silly design to accomplish something straightforward.

Book Circle: All We Can Save
2024-01-22 19:30 - 20:30
All We Can Save Book Circle
January – May
2nd and 4th Mondays of the month, 7:30pm – 8:30pm
Are you hungry for deeper dialogue about the climate crisis and building community around solutions? We are too. All We Can Save Circles are like a book club, but a cooler, deeper, extended version. Let’s strengthen the “we” in All We Can Save. Circles were created by Dr. Katharine Wilkinson. Join us for this bimonthly book circle, must commit to most dates. Please submit interest here or email casey@hitchcockcenter.org. Some copies available to borrow from Hitchcock.
All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and solutions for the Climate Crisis
Edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson
REGISTER HERE
