Calendar of Events
Outings
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.
Nature Photography 101
Have you ever wondered how professional photographers are able to capture such stunning images of nature? Join award-winning photographer Ben Conant for a “behind the lens” look at nature photography.
Birding for All: World Migratory Bird Day Big Sit at Pack Monadnock
Join Harris Center raptor biologists Levi Burford and Katrina Fenton as we tally all bird species observed during a single day from a single location: the Pack Monadnock Raptor Observatory in Peterborough. Beginning birders and all ages welcome!
Mushroom Meander with the Morel Quandary Club at Goose Pond
Let boletes and amanitas capture your imagination as we search for mid-autumn mushrooms with fungi fans John Benjamin and George Caughey!
Hiking the Wapack Trail: Windblown to Barrett Mountain
Join Friends of the Wapack Board member Gail Coffey and trail steward Gerry Coffey for a 3.5-mile roundtrip hike along the Wapack Trail from Windblown to Barrett Mountain.
LGBTQ+ Community Hike on Skatutakee and Thumb Mountains
Join Dee Denehy (she, her), Richard Doherty (he, him), and Hunter Kirschner (he, they) for an LGBTQ+ community hike on the Harris Center’s West Side Trails to Skatutakee and Thumb Mountains.
Hiking the West Side Trails
Join Harris Center trustees and local hiking enthusiasts Denise Zimmer and Tara Kessler for an autumn hike of the Harris Center’s West Side Trails to Skatutakee and Thumb Mountains.
Easygoing Hike at the Zophar Willard Woods
Join Harris Center ecologist Brett Amy Thelen, longtime outing leader Ben Haubrich, and Historic Harrisville Director Erin Hammerstadt for a 1.75-mile loop hike from Harrisville's historic mill village through the Zophar Willard Woods – once a woodlot for a 19th-century clothespin and wooden box factory, now conservation land protected by Historic Harrisville.
Following in the Footsteps of John Kulish to White Swamp and Spoonwood Pond
Join Stan Smith and Vic Starzynski for a 5-mile roundtrip hike through the wilds of the SuperSanctuary. We’ll start at the end of King’s Highway along Nubanusit Lake and then take a bearing by compass to White Swamp and Spoonwood Pond.
Hiking the Mason Rail Trail
Join avid hiker and amateur historian Miki Clements and trail builder extraordinaire Curt Spacht for a 1.75-mile roundtrip hike on a newly developed loop off the Mason Rail Trail, through the woodland behind the quarry.
Mushroom Meander with Morel Quandary Club at the Horatio Colony Nature Preserve
Join mushroom mavens John Benjamin and George Caughey for an afternoon ramble in search of late-season fungi. From polypores and slime molds to waxy caps and honey mushrooms, you never know what we’ll find on one of these fungtastical forays!
Easygoing Hike on Monadnock’s Old Toll Road to Little Mountain
Join Phil Brown and Ben Haubrich for a leisurely hike on the Old Toll Road to “Little Mountain” for some stellar views of the southern Monadnock Region.
