Winter on Crane Beach offers us a unique opportunity to go where we've never gone before - on the sand! Join us on a fun and educational oversand adventure as we explore the winter landscape of Castle Neck and Crane Beach. You will learn all about the natural history of the barrier beach as we keep a look out for winter wildlife including snowy owls!
Was it the butler in the pantry with the pipe wrench? Come find out at the Crane Estate! You've been invited to Miss Florence Crane's birthday party in 1928. Everyone is having a good time until someone dies. Can you figure out who did it, in what room, and with which weapon?
Skip the pasta machine and get ready to use your hands to create orecchiette (little ears), cavatelli (dimpled pasta) and more with Chef Emily! This simple pasta dough has just three ingredients, and is easily shaped by both big and little hands. Parents and kids will work together to mix and knead their dough, shape the noodles, then share a delicious meal using local produce and meats from Appleton Farms. Chef Emily will use the finished pasta to demo an easy seasonal recipe and everyone will have time at the end to eat.
Come to Joppa Flats Education Center for an afternoon full of family fun! Adults and children can spend quality family time in the great outdoors finding, observing, and admiring local wildlife. Can you imagine seeing a Bald Eagle or a Snowy Owl on a winter walk? Families will travel in their cars to several birding hot spots on the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge with Joppa Flats naturalists in the lead. Once there, we'll walk on cleared trails to search for the birds that are here for the winter. Then, we'll wrap up with hot chocolate back at Joppa Flats.
Get outside with your family for some fresh air and to experience the beauty of the sanctuary. A Mindful Nature Experience incorporates elements of mindfulness, forest bathing, ayurveda, and yoga to connect mind and body in community with the outdoors, reinvigorate your senses, and deeply immerse you in the healing power of nature. As a family, awaken your bodies with easy, flowing exercises, and use mindful breathing techniques to connect with and offer gratitude for the natural world. Walk with awareness to immerse deeply in nature, explore your senses using various sensory techniques that awaken curiosity, and find your own personal sit spot to meditate as one with nature.
The Vernal Equinox marks the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. On this family friendly hike, join a Trustees staff member on the Stevens-to-Stevens Trail at The Stevens-Coolidge Place to watch the sun set and search for signs of Spring! We’ll share stories about the seasons and imagine what spring has in store for us.
Have you ever wanted to try snowshoeing but didn't know where to start? Join us for a leisurely snowshoe hike through the sanctuary. Along the way, we will search for animal tracks and keep our eyes open for wildlife. If you don't own snowshoes, we'll provide them for you. Snow or not, we will enjoy a wonderful winter hike and end with some hot chocolate to warm up!
There's a lot going on in the natural world in winter, so bundle up the family and join us for an outdoor exploration! This walk will begin with a short introduction indoors, and then we'll go outside to explore. What birds visit your house in winter? We'll walk the trails looking, listening, and calling for birds. After our hike, we'll return to the Nature Center to warm up and view birds from our observation window.
In this outdoor survival skills program, older children will learn the basics of the ancient outdoor skill of shelter building. We will look at real examples of animal homes for inspiration, learn some different shelter types and their pros and cons, discuss shelter safety, and make our own full-size shelters on the sanctuary. If there is snow we will make cozy quinzhee huts and if there is no snow we will make leafy lean-to huts. No experience necessary--just a desire to survive and thrive in the wild!
Newburyport Youth Services and Kites Over New England invite you to join the fun for a day of winter wonder as kite flyers from around New England bring their large kites to fly over the field at Maudslay State Park. Bring your favorite kite as well! Come to one of two kite making lessons in the morning then fly the kites in the afternoon at Maudslay State Park.
