Hitchcock Center for the Environment

Nature Play Afterschool
2026-03-04 15:30 - 17:30, 2026-03-18 15:30 - 17:30 (America/New_York)
Nature Play Afterschool Series
With: Jeff Mazur
Grades 3-5
Wednesdays, 3:30-5:30 p.m.
January 7 – March 18 (Extended day on February 25 (1PM), no programs on February 18 or March 11)
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 Afterschool 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.

Spring Birding Course
2026-03-04 18:00 - 20:00, 2026-03-07 07:00 - 12:00, 2026-03-21 07:00 - 12:00
Spring Birding Course
Led by Scott Surner
Space is limited, and this program sells out fast!
Sliding Scale: $380 / $440 /$500
Join this spring tradition. Are you wanting to delight in birds more often, learn what you are seeing and hearing, seek new species you haven’t seen, or just be in community with other birders?
LEARN MORE

Nature Discovery: Sky Explorers (Group A)
2026-03-06 09:30 - 11:30, 2026-03-20 09:30 - 11:30
Nature Discovery Series for 3-5 year olds (Adult/Child) Spring 2026
Sky Explorers: The Great Bird Adventure
with Chrissy Larson
Ages 3-5 (Adult required to attend with child)
All sessions 9:30-11:30 AM

Alternating Weeks on Fridays (activities are the same for Group A & Group B):
Please note: no classes scheduled on 4/24 or 5/22.
Group A Sessions: 3/6, 3/20, 4/3, 4/17, 5/8, 5/29
OR
Group B Sessions: 3/13, 3/27, 4/10, 5/1, 5/15, 6/5

Limited to 12 children. Limit of 2 preK children per adult. Each preK student must register. Siblings under 3 are free.
Grab your wings and join the Sky Explorers on a magical adventure! From clever crows to soaring hawks, each class uncovers the wonders of a different New England bird — how they fly, hunt, and play. Children will learn about bird families, their homes, and all the amazing ways they move, eat, and communicate. This program encourages learning through exploration, movement, songs, stories, and crafts. An adult caregiver must attend with the child.
Please note: Nature Discovery classes typically start indoors with table activities and circle time, followed by an outdoor adventure that includes hands-on activities and a story.

Little Bear Nature Walk
2026-03-09 10:00 - 11:15, 2026-03-19 10:00 - 11:15, 2026-03-25 10:00 - 11:15, 2026-03-28 10:00 - 11:15, 2026-03-31 10:00 - 11:15
Little Bear Nature Walks
With Chrissy Larson
Ages 0-5 (Adult required to attend with child)
10:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Walks are outdoors and take place unless there is extreme weather.
See dates and locations here
Little Bear Nature Walks are guided, open-ended walks that allow toddlers, preschoolers and their caregivers explore nature in an age-appropriate way. While on the walk, children borrow a backpack filled with simple tools for exploring and are led by a preschool educator. Children investigate plants and animals, engage with rocks, soil and water, and use their imaginations to play with the world. Walks incorporate observation, inquiry, and sensory learning. Each has a loose theme and includes a trail-side storytime. Come along with us!
See dates and locations here

Girls into the Wild
2026-03-10 15:30 - 17:30, 2026-03-17 15:30 - 17:30
Girls into the Wild
with Katie Koerten
Grades 4-6
Tuesdays, 3:30-5:30 p.m.
January 6 – March 17 (no program January 20 and February 17)
Limited to 12 participants
Join us in winter 2026 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 Slug 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
2026-03-10 15:30 - 17:30, 2026-03-17 15:30 - 17:30
Nature Play Afterschool Series
With: Jeff Mazur
Grades 1-3
Tuesdays, 3:30-5:30 p.m.
January 6 – March 17 (no program January 20 and February 17)
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 Afterschool 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
2026-03-18 15:30 - 17:30
Junior Nature Play Afterschool Series
With: Isaiah Brown
Grades K-2
Wednesdays, 3:30-5:30 p.m.
January 7 – March 18 (Extended day on February 25 (1PM), no programs on February 18 or March 11)
Limited to 12 participants
Hitchcock’s Junior Nature Play Afterschool Program is designed to let kids be kids. Together we will run, jump, invent, imagine, and play as 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.

Beneath the Woodland Canopy: The Understory
2026-03-18 18:00 - 19:30
A John Green Slide Show:
Beneath the Woodland Canopy: The Understory
Wednesday, March 18, 6pm
Have you seen a John Green Slideshow? It is literally an old fashion slideshow, click of the machine and whir of the fan. John has a lifetime of beautiful nature photography that he puts together along with his stories. This is a new compilation over and under. Don’t miss it.

On the Same Page '26: Beaver Tales with Dr. Bruchac
2026-03-19 19:00 - 20:00
Beaver Tales: Native Traditions and Colonial Relations
Thursday, March 19 at 7:00 p.m.
Located at North Amherst Library Meeting Room

This talk by Dr. Margaret M. Bruchac considers shifts in Indigenous approaches to hunting beaver in the Connecticut River valley. For millennia, hunting practices were rooted in reciprocity and sustainability, as recorded in oral traditions and archaeological records. During the 1600s, however, the English colonial settler fur trade encouraged over-hunting and introduced a debt economy, provoking land loss and conflicts that resonate into the present day.
Dr. Margaret M. Bruchac is Professor Emerita of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she founded the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative. For more than 30 years, she has also served as a consultant to Historic Northampton, Historic Deerfield, the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, and Old Sturbridge Village Museum.
This is part of the On the Same Page 2026 Community Read! A series of free programs for all in collaboration with Amherst Jones Library.
Learn more about the program series

On the Same Page '26: Family Beaver StoryWalk
2026-03-21 10:00 - 11:30
Family Beaver StoryWalk and Program

Saturday, March 21 at 10:00 a.m. – Wentworth Farm Conservation Area
Katie Koerten, Hitchcock Center Education Director

Wood you believe that beavers are some of nature’s most important engineers? Join the Hitchcock Center for a beaver StoryWalk for young ones! We’ll waddle through beaver habitat, reading the pages of a beaver-themed StoryWalk as we go. We’ll slap our “tails,” waddle like beavers, and sing a song about our favorite lodge-builders. Spend time in the outdoors engaging in early literacy and movement. Best for little explorers ages 1-6 with their caregivers. Led by Katie Koerten of the Hitchcock Center.
This is part of the On the Same Page 2026 Community Read! A series of free programs for all in collaboration with Amherst Jones Library.
Learn more about the program series

Junior Nature Play Afterschool
2026-03-23 15:30 - 17:30, 2026-03-30 15:30 - 17:30
Junior Nature Play Afterschool
With: Isaiah Brown
Grades 1-3
Mondays 3:30-5:30 p.m.
March 23 – June 8 (no program April 20 and May 25)
Limited to 12 participants
Come explore the outdoors as we travel in and around the Hitchcock Center’s outdoor spaces! We explore woodlands, fields, underbush and streams in this afterschool series for upper-elementary schoolers. Participants engage in a variety of games, activities, and discovery-based adventures every week. The hope with this program is to grow and develop young people’s appreciation for the outdoors while exploring their feelings of joy and curiosity in both play and exploration.

On the Same Page '26: Screening of "Beaver Family Life"
2026-03-23 18:00 - 19:30
Screening of Beaver Family Life

Monday, March 23 at 6:00 p.m. – Hitchcock Center @ 845 West Street

Join us at the Hitchcock Center for a screening of a new documentary by New England Forests, as we follow a beaver family over a year’s time, beginning in autumn as they prepare for and endure winter; and then as warm spring and summer weather returns. The filmmaker, Ray Asselin, will be on hand to answer questions.
This is part of the On the Same Page 2026 Community Read! A series of free programs for all in collaboration with Amherst Jones Library.
Learn more about the program series

Girls into the Wild
2026-03-24 15:30 - 17:30, 2026-03-31 15:30 - 17:30
Girls into the Wild
with: Katie Koerten
Grades 4-6
Tuesdays, 3:30-5:30 p.m.
March 24 – June 9 (no program April 21)
Limited to 12 participants
Girls into the Wild continues into 2026 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 Slug 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 in the outdoors! Come build your confidence and show your wild side! Any young people with an experience of gender marginalization are welcome!

Nature Play Afterschool
2026-03-24 15:30 - 17:30, 2026-03-31 15:30 - 17:30
Nature Play Afterschool Series
With Jeff Mazur
Grades 1-3
Tuesdays, 3:30-5:30 p.m.
March 24 – June 9 (no program April 21)
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 Afterschool 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
2026-03-25 13:00 - 17:30
Junior Nature Play Afterschool Series
With: Isaiah Brown
Grades K-2
Wednesdays, 3:30-5:30 p.m.
March 25 – June 10 (Extended days (1PM) on March 25, April 29, May 27, no program April 22)
Fee per Child: Tier A-$434 | Tier B-$378 | Tier C-$321
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 Spring Junior Nature Play we will play in the mud and spring rains, look for bugs, and enjoy the warming outdoors. Our instructors provide a safe setting for children to explore nature and encourage children to stretch their limits.

Nature Play Afterschool
2026-03-25 13:00 - 17:30
Nature Play Afterschool Series
With Jeff Mazur
Grades 3-5
Wednesdays, 3:30-5:30 p.m.
March 25 – June 10 (Extended days (1PM) on March 25, April 29, May 27, no program April 22)
Fee per Child: Tier A-$434 | Tier B-$378 | Tier C-$321
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 spring Nature Play Afterschool we will explore, watch the trees bud, celebrate the green and blooming springtime, and play in the mud. Our instructors provide a safe setting for children to explore nature and encourage children to stretch their limits.

On the Same Page '26: Author Event with Leila Philip
2026-03-25 19:00 - 20:00
On the Same Page with Leila Philip

Wednesday, March 25 at 7:00 pm
At Munson Memorial Library Hall

Join us for an exciting in-person evening with author Leila Philip, as she reads from and discusses her book Beaverland.
This is part of the On the Same Page 2026 Community Read! A series of free programs for all in collaboration with Amherst Jones Library.
Learn more about the program series
