Hitchcock Center for the Environment

Book Circle: All We Can Save
2024-02-12 19:30 - 20:30, 2024-02-26 19:30 - 20:30 (America/New_York)
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

Homeschool Discovery Days: Scents, Scat and Signs
2024-02-13 10:00 - 14:00
Scents, Scat and Signs: Animal Tracking
With Alanna Johnston-Rutledge
February 13, 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
Join us as we learn about the “hidden” world of animals to better understand the creatures around us. We’ll learn tracking basics and discover how even the most minute details from animal signs can actually tell a beautiful and complex story.

Junior Nature Play Afterschool: Winter
2024-02-14 15:30 - 17:30, 2024-02-28 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.

Nature Play Afterschool: Winter
2024-02-14 15:30 - 17:30, 2024-02-28 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.

Girls into the Wild: Winter
2024-02-15 15:30 - 17:30, 2024-02-29 15:30 - 17:30, 2024-03-07 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 Trivia Night in Support of the Scholarship Fund
2024-02-15 18:00 - 20:00
Thursday, February 15
6 pm – 8 pm
Sliding Scale Tickets: $20, $30, $40
Located at Hitchcock Center
Teams up to 4, pub style fun.

Join us for a fun evening of testing your nature knowledge to raise money for our scholarship fund! Winning team will split the pot with Hitchcock! What’s a group of seals called? When do the Great-horned Owls mate? What is this bird? Do you know? Come test yourself and hang with others who also love to geek out about nature stuff.
REGISTER HERE

Nature Discovery Preschool Days: Animal Signs
2024-02-16 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, February 16: Signs of Animals and Tracking
Friday, March 8: Slip, Slide – Ice and Snow!

Girls into the Wild
2024-02-18 15:30 - 17:30, 2024-02-25 15:30 - 17:30, 2024-03-03 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 Vacation Days
2024-02-19 08:45 - 15:00, 2024-02-20 08:45 - 15:00, 2024-02-21 08:45 - 15:00, 2024-02-22 08:45 - 15:00, 2024-02-23 08:45 - 15:00
Monday through Friday, February 19-23
8:45 AM – 3:00 PM
Age Groups:
Jumping Mice: Grades K-1
Brown Bats: Grades 1-2
Groundhogs: Grades 3-5
Fee per child per day: Tier A-$110 | Tier B-$92 | Tier C-$78 | Tier D-$60
Limited 12 Participants for Jumping Mice
Limited to 15 participants for Brown Bats and Groundhogs
Spend your days off from school learning and playing outside at the Hitchcock Center! Our theme this winter is winter resilience! How do animals survive and thrive in the winter? We’ll explore ideas like biomimicry, biodiversity, and the science of insulation all while making crafts and spending time with our live animals. Sign up for as many days as you wish. Five-year olds must be in Kindergarten in order to participate. First graders may register for the K-1 age group or the 1-2 age group. Non-refundable within a week of the program, all cancellations incur a 10% administrative fee.

Spring Birding Course
2024-02-24 05:00 - 17:00
Spring Birding Course with Scott Surner
February 24 – June 8 2024
Classes and field trips
Sliding scale tickets: $375, $325, $280
Up to 15 participants. Registration required.
Feb 24: Travel day. 5 pm – all Day. Plum Island or Cape Ann. We start the class by birding along the Massachusetts coastline looking for winter ducks, Loons, Grebes, Purple Sandpipers, and perhaps a Snowy Owl.
REGISTER HERE

Wild Children of the Woods: Winter
2024-02-26 15:30 - 17:30, 2024-03-04 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.

Big Migration AKA "Big Night" Volunteer Info & Training
2024-02-28 18:00 - 19:00
Big Migration – “Big Night” Volunteer Information and Training Session
Wednesday, February 28, 6pm – 7pm
It is getting close to the time of year again for Big Migration! On the first rainy, warm nights of spring, thousands of spotted salamanders, wood frogs, spring peepers, and other amphibians travel to vernal pools and other wetlands to breed. This migration is known as “Big Night” — though it rarely occurs on just one evening. Most years, “Big Night” is actually one or two Big Nights, a few Medium-Sized Nights, and a Small Night here or there, which can take place anytime from mid-March to early May. In Amherst, this happens on Henry Street, where amphibians make their annual journey from their forest territories to their breeding pools at Henry Street in North Amherst.
We will have a short presentation on the yellow-spotted salamander, and the history of the salamander tunnels. We all also discuss how volunteers can help this year, by gathering data and being ambassadors for others who come to the tunnels, to share how to safely participate in this once-a-year event.
Join us to help prepare for the excitement of the Big Migration and assist the Henry Street amphibians on their journey – generally, the first rainy night( or nights) of spring when temperatures remain above 40 degrees.
Sign up for our training session on February 28 and to get migration updates through Spring!
BIG MIGRATION EMAIL LIST

Film Screening: Kiss the Ground
2024-02-29 18:00 - 20:30
Thursday, February 29 at 6 pm
Registration required, donations appreciated.

Come watch Kiss the Ground with us at Hitchcock Center.
REGISTER HERE

Fireside Chat: Astronomy
2024-03-01 18:30 - 19:30
Friday, February 2 at 6:30 pm
(Bad weather date is Friday, March 1)
Registration required
Sliding scale: $12, $20, $32
We love crisp, clear winter nights here! Join us for warm drinks and snacks around the campfire along with stargazing.

Homeschool I: Water Protectors
2024-03-05 10:00 - 14:00
Homeschool I: Water Protectors
With Lauren Dausch
Grades 1 – 3, Ages 6 – 8
Tuesdays 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
March 5 – May 28 (No program Mar 12, Apr 9 for Discovery Days, no class Apr 16 for April Vacation Week)
Tier A: $771 | Tier B: $643 | Tier C: $546 | Tier D: $418
Limited to 12 participants
Inspired by the Indigenous water protectors of Standing Rock, Homeschool 1 will focus on the sacredness of water. We will explore questions such as what is the importance of water, and how does it connect everything? What is the water cycle? How can water support so many diverse habitats and creatures? We will gently learn about current issues involving clean water and water conservation, and discover how we can be change-makers and caretakers of the earth no matter how old or young we are! Our group will explore this topic through outdoor play, hands-on activities, journaling, songs, community projects, field trips, and more. Join us as we become the water protectors we were meant to be!
Non-refundable within a week of the start of the program; all refunds incur a 10% administrative fee.

Homeschool II: H2WHOA
2024-03-05 10:00 - 14:00
Homeschool II: H2WHOA!: How Water Connects Us
Grades 4-6, Ages 9-12
Tuesdays 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
March 5 – May 28 (No program Mar 12, Apr 9 for Discovery Days, no class Apr 16 for April Vacation Week)
Tier A: $771 | Tier B:$643 | Tier C:$546 | Tier D:$418
Limited to 12 participants
How do clouds form? Where does water go once it’s down the drain? What lives in a vernal pool? Discover the answers as we explore daily water-related themes, and the ways this vital liquid connects all life. Learn about aquatic plants and animals, the ways humans affect our ecosystem, and the importance of caring for our shared waters as members of communities. Try building a beaver dam, forming your own snowflakes, and measure the health of local ponds and streams. This class will feature field trips, engineering challenges, games, crafts, journaling, and more.
Non-refundable within a week of the start of the program; all refunds incur a 10% administrative fee.

Workshop: How to Talk about Climate Change
2024-03-06 19:00 - 20:30
How to Talk about Climate Change: Climate Action through Conversation
A workshop with Ezra Markowitz
Wednesday, March 6
7 pm – 8:30 pm
Registration required, donations appreciated.

Most people spend very little time talking about environmental issues with their colleagues, friends and family members. Yet research shows that these are exactly the conversations we need to be having in order to promote greater public engagement with the climate change and sustainability challenges we face. In this talk, I will present some of the research we and others have done on the key role of interpersonal communication—everyday social interactions and conversations—in climate change decisions. I will then highlight how this work can be used to support pro-environmental decision-making across a variety of issues. This will be a moderated conversation with lots of time for Q&A.

Nature Discovery Preschool Days: Ice and Snow
2024-03-08 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, March 8: Slip, Slide – Ice and Snow!
