Calendar of Events
Outings
Babies in Backpacks and Toddlers in Tow in Keene
Join Harris Center naturalists for a morning meander through springtime fields and forests. A perfect ramble for little legs – and a great chance to chat with other parents as we walk!
Birding for All: An Accessible, Inclusive Birding Outing at the Manchester Cedar Swamp
Meet naturalists Phil Brown and Brett Amy Thelen for a morning of birding at The Nature Conservancy’s Cedar Swamp All Persons Trail, where a new wheelchair-accessible, hard-packed gravel path winds through an ecologically diverse forest.
Environmental Studies Institute: Field Ecology of Breeding Raptors
Harris Center for Conservation Education 83 Kings Hwy, Hancock, NH, United StatesSpring is breeding season for hawks, eagles, and falcons in the Monadnock Region. Step into their world during this five-part field course with Harris Center Bird Conservation Director Phil Brown.
Environmental Studies Institute: CyberTracker Track & Sign Evaluations
Harris Center for Conservation Education 83 Kings Hwy, Hancock, NH, United StatesJoin Nate Harvey for a two-day tracking intensive through CyberTracker's Track & Sign Evaluation program. This is both a certification for those who desire it and a rich learning experience for anyone who wants to learn more about wildlife track & sign.
Beech Hill’s Going to the Birds
Flap your wings and soar over to Beech Hill for a bird-focused morning with the Harris Center’s newest naturalist, Nikko Gagnon. Beginning birders welcome!
Environmental Studies Institute: CyberTracker Track & Sign Evaluations
Harris Center for Conservation Education 83 Kings Hwy, Hancock, NH, United StatesJoin Nate Harvey for a two-day tracking intensive through CyberTracker's Track & Sign Evaluation program. This is both a certification for those who desire it and a rich learning experience for anyone who wants to learn more about wildlife track & sign.
Birding for All: An Accessible, Inclusive Birding Outing at Crotched Mountain
Ramble along Crotched Mountain’s accessible trails with Harris Center naturalist Susie Spikol and Bird Conservation Director Phil Brown. We’ll look and listen for mid-summer singers, secretive nesters, and young fledglings, taking our time to notice the mountain’s other wild delights as well.
Paddle on the North Branch of the Contoocook
Join adventurers Kathy Schillemat and Tom Momeyer for a paddle down the North Branch of the Contoocook River from Robb Reservoir to Compass Pond. With luck, we’ll see herons, waterfowl, turtles, and maybe even moose.
Easygoing Hike from Old Dublin to Eaton Road
Join naturalists Brett Amy Thelen and Susie Spikol for good company and great views on this gentle, 2-mile loop walk along scenic country roads and an old railroad bed.
Mushroom Meander with the Morel Quandary Club at the Harris Center
Let the warm summer rains bring on the mushrooms! Join Harris Center naturalist John Benjamin and mushroom enthusiast George Caughey to search for the fantastic fungi of summer.
LGBTQ+ Community Paddle on Nubanusit Lake and Spoonwood Pond
Join Janet Yardley (she, her), Richard Doherty (he, him), and Hunter Kirschner (he, they) for an LGBTQ+ paddle on Nubanusit Lake and Spoonwood Pond, where we’ll look for eagles, loons, mergansers, and other wildlife.
Golden Hour Paddle at Center Pond
Join Brett Amy Thelen and Jeremy Wilson for a leisurely evening paddle around Center Pond, where we’ll listen for loons, look for beavers, and learn about the conservation of this Nelson town gem.
Paddling for Loons at Willard Pond
Have you ever wondered what loons are saying with those eerie calls in the night, or why loon chicks ride on their parents’ backs? Join Melanie Carolan of the Loon Preservation Committee and Harris Center ecologist Brett Amy Thelen to learn the answers to these questions and more!
Field Trip to the Contoocook Railroad Bridge
Join Bill Caswell, President of the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges, and Kim Varney Chandler, author of Covered Bridges of New Hampshire, for an interactive tour of this historic double-town lattice truss bridge.
Hiking the East Side Trails
Join Ben Haubrich and Peter Harrison for a 1.5-mile loop hike along the Harris Center’s newly re-routed East Side trail network, where cool hemlock and hardwood forests give way to huge glacial boulders.
Easygoing Hike at Camp Chenoa
Join Phil Brown and Ben Haubrich for an easygoing summer stroll through the Harris Center’s Camp Chenoa land – home to both young and older forest, a mix of wetlands, and other interesting landscape features that provide habitat connectivity between the Willard Pond and Gregg Lake watersheds.
Hiking the Nissitissit Headwaters
Join avid hiker Miki Clements and birder Gail Coffey for a 1.3-mile loop hike through the Nissitissit River Headwaters Preserve, which features a pond, a meadow, and varied woodlands, which are home to many species of breeding and migratory birds.
Nature on Tap: Downtown Geology Walk in Keene
Join Keene State College geology professor Charlie Kerwin for a tour of downtown Keene’s geological treasures. From building facades to front steps, prepare to be blown away by the rocks and minerals along Main Street and the stories they have to tell.
Birding for All: Birding the Nighthawk Migration in Keene
Nighthawks are among the last migrants to arrive each spring and the earliest to depart each “fall,” with southbound migration peaking in late August. Join nighthawk enthusiasts Cliff Seifer and Brett Amy Thelen to search for the spectacle from a good vantage point in the Ashuelot River Valley.
An Evening with Fergus Garrett: How Flower Gardens Can Support Threatened Species
Join us for a special evening with Fergus Garrett, one of the most influential garden designers of our time. In this illustrated talk, Fergus will reveal how flower gardens can support some of our most threatened species.
Birding for All: Birding the Nighthawk Migration in Peterborough
Nighthawks are among the last migrants to arrive each spring and the earliest to depart each “fall,” with southbound migration peaking in late August. Join nighthawk enthusiasts Phil Brown and Susie Spikol to search for the spectacle from a good vantage point in the Contoocook River Valley.
Mushroom Meander with the Morel Quandary Club in Walpole
Join Harris Center naturalist John Benjamin and mushroom enthusiast George Caughey to search for the fantastic fungi of summer. From russulas and waxy caps to puffballs and wolf’s milk slime, come get your ‘shroom on!
The Kestrels Young Birders Club: Hawkwatching at Blueberry Ridge
Are you a teenager with an interest in birds and birding? Join a growing movement of young adults who are honing their wildlife observation skills, learning to recognize birds and their calls, and spending time outside building community with other young birders.
Birding for All: An Accessible, Inclusive Birding Outing at Dillant-Hopkins Airport
Join avid birder Phil Brown and naturalist Susie Spikol on a search for migrating birds of all feathers. We’ll slowly make our way up a wide, paved road out to a large wetland in hopes of encountering hawks, waterfowl, warblers, and other songbirds. Beginning birders and all ages welcome!
Easygoing Hike at Cathedral of the Pines
Join Harris Center naturalist Susie Spikol, longtime outing leader Ben Haubrich, and Cathedral of the Pines Executive Director Michelle Lowe for an easygoing amble along the trails at Cathedral of the Pines.
Mushroom Meander with the Morel Quandary Club at the Harris Center
Join fungi fanatics John Benjamin and George Caughey to search for early fall mushrooms. Discover your inner fungiphile as we look for polypores, boletes, amanitas, russulas, slime molds, and more!
Field Trip: Fall Tree Identification
Join Mike Gagnon and Matt Tarr of UNH Extension for a relaxed ramble focused on fall tree identification. Together, we'll examine branching patterns, leaf shape and structure, foliage, fruit, and how each species functions as habitat for wildlife.
Source to Sea Cleanup
Monadnock Region NH, United StatesMake a difference for our local rivers during the Connecticut River Conservancy's 27th Annual Source to Sea Cleanup! In the Monadnock Region, we’ll focus our efforts on the Ashuelot River in Keene, Swanzey, and Winchester.
Source to Sea Cleanup
Monadnock Region NH, United StatesMake a difference for our local rivers during the Connecticut River Conservancy's 27th Annual Source to Sea Cleanup! In the Monadnock Region, we’ll focus our efforts on the Ashuelot River in Keene, Swanzey, and Winchester.
All About Jack’s Pond: A History Hike
Join Hancock writer Eric Aldrich, Harris Center naturalist Susie Spikol, and Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire Director JerriAnne Boggis for a 2.5-mile roundtrip hike to Jack’s Pond, where we'll hear about Jack's life, the families he was connected with, and how Black history — so long in the shadows — is now coming to light.
