Calendar of Events
Lectures
Salamander Crossing Brigades Workshop in Harrisville
Every year, we train citizen scientists to serve on Salamander Crossing Brigades throughout the Monadnock Region. To join the ranks – or simply to learn more about the remarkable spring amphibian migration – join us for this fun volunteer training.
Salamander Crossing Brigades Workshop in Hancock
Every year, we train citizen scientists to serve on Salamander Crossing Brigades throughout the Monadnock Region. To join the ranks – or simply to learn more about the remarkable spring amphibian migration – join us for this fun volunteer training.
The Dynamic History of Forests in Southwest New Hampshire & What Landowners Can Do to Help Restore Important Wildlife Habitat
Join Matt Tarr and Steve Roberge of the UNH Cooperative Extension to learn about the fascinating history of our ever-changing forests and what you can do to create and restore important wildlife habitat on your property.
Bird Banding Demonstration
Dig into the science of songbirds during this bird banding demonstration by ornithologist Dr. Patricia Wohner. You’ll get great glimpses of some of the songbirds that make their home in the Harris Center woods and fields, and hopefully see a few spring migrants as well.
The Venomous Shrew and the Secrets of the Deep Dark Below
Venom like a cobra and an unstoppable appetite, all packed into a creature who weighs less than a penny? Yes! This is not fake news. Come hear about the remarkable life and times of the short-tailed shrew, who lives right beneath your feet.
Environmental Studies Institute: Water and Us
RiverMead Auditorium 150 RiverMead Road, Peterborough, NH, United StatesJoin author and journalist Jim Rousmaniere for a four-week course exploring water’s impact on humans, and humans’ impact on water, since the beginning of the industrial revolution.
Eyes On Owls
This special live owl presentation is offered by invitation only to current Harris Center members. If you’re a member, you should have received an invitation in the mail. If you haven’t yet renewed your membership, or would like to join for the first time, visit harriscenter.org/membership or call (603) 525-3394.
Environmental Studies Institute: Water and Us
RiverMead Auditorium 150 RiverMead Road, Peterborough, NH, United StatesJoin author and journalist Jim Rousmaniere for a four-week course exploring water’s impact on humans, and humans’ impact on water, since the beginning of the industrial revolution.
Nature on Tap: Intoxication in the Animal Kingdom
Join Harris Center Science Director and drunk-animal enthusiast Brett Amy Thelen for stories of intoxication from the animal kingdom. From boozy bears to wasted waxwings, we’ll separate fact from fiction in this light-hearted happy hour (what else?) conversation.
Environmental Studies Institute: Water and Us
RiverMead Auditorium 150 RiverMead Road, Peterborough, NH, United StatesJoin author and journalist Jim Rousmaniere for a four-week course exploring water’s impact on humans, and humans’ impact on water, since the beginning of the industrial revolution.
Environmental Studies Institute: Water and Us
RiverMead Auditorium 150 RiverMead Road, Peterborough, NH, United StatesJoin author and journalist Jim Rousmaniere for a four-week course exploring water’s impact on humans, and humans’ impact on water, since the beginning of the industrial revolution.
Town by Town, Watershed by Watershed: Native Americans in New Hampshire
Join John and Donna Moody of the Winter Center for Indigenous Traditions for an engaging exploration of the history of New Hampshire's Abenaki and Penacook peoples, with a focus on our local area.
Water Connections: What Fresh Water Means to Us and What We Mean to Water
Join journalist Jim Rousmaniere for a talk based on his new book on the connections between people and water. He'll discuss floods and flood control, watershed protection, hydropower, pollutants, and more.
Owl L’Amour
Join Harris Center naturalist Susie Spikol for this light-hearted talk on owl courtship. Find out how Barred Owls woo, and learn what all that wild hooting is about in the woods!
Nature on Tap: A Loon Ranger’s Life
Join us at the Post & Beam Brewery for happy hour storytelling with Caroline Hughes of the Loon Preservation Committee. Find out the secrets of one of New Hampshire’s most iconic species and raise your glass to this majestic bird!
Space Animals
Join Susie Spikol for an evening slideshow on the history of animals in space as part of the Hancock Town Library’s summer reading program.
The Emerging LiDAR Landscape: A New Way of Looking at the Land
Join Rick Chormann, NH state geologist, for an introduction to Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology, with an emphasis on glacial landforms. Rick will also discuss stone walls as landforms, their place in New Hampshire history, and the New Hampshire Stone Wall Mapping project.
Raptor Migration in NH: What the Numbers Tell Us
Join Phil Brown for a talk about hawkwatching in New Hampshire and the natural history of commonly-seen raptors.
Fishers: Separating Fact from Fiction
Although they have a rather notorious reputation in New England, many of the things we take as truth about fishers are in fact a lot of hype. How well do you know fishers? To find out, join Harris Center naturalist and avowed fisher fan Susie Spikol for this talk at Distant Hill Gardens.
Motus: A Revolution in Migration Research
Learn about an amazing new research network that is revolutionizing the study of animal migration by tracking the movements of small birds, bats, and even dragonflies who have been fitted with tiny radio transmitters.
The Year Without a Summer
Following the devastating eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Tambora, 1816 came to be known as “the year without a summer.” Join Mount Washington Observatory’s Will Broussard to explore the many natural and cultural impacts this event had on the world, including right here in New Hampshire
“Bobcats Before Breakfast”: Remembering Naturalist John Kulish, His Book, and His Legacy
Join writer Mark Reynolds and Harris Center naturalist Susie Spikol for an evening honoring the Harris Center’s first naturalist, John Kulish. Dig deeper into the life of this charismatic trapper-turned conservationist, and hear about his long-lasting legacy.
First-Ever Monadnock Region Natural History Conference
This one-day conference will feature presentations on a diversity of natural history topics, with a focus on conservation research, ecological restoration, and natural resource management in the Monadnock Region.
Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest: Groundbreaking Discoveries in the Whites
Learn how long-term ecological monitoring at Hubbard Brook has led to groundbreaking discoveries, including the impacts of acid rain, bird habitat change, timber harvesting, and climate change.
Nature on Tap: Santa’s Magic Mushroom
Mythology meets natural history in this holiday-themed Nature on Tap! You’ll look at Santa in a whole new light after Harris Center naturalist Susie Spikol reveals the fascinating link between the divine soma mushroom and the origins of Jolly Old Saint Nick.
Utterly Otters
Join naturalist Susie Spikol for a lively talk on the largest member of the weasel family in New England: the bounding, sliding, swimming, charismatic otter!
Nature on Tap: Love, Sex, and Wow in the Animal World
Join Harris Center naturalists Brett Amy Thelen, Jenna Spear, and Susie Spikol for a special Valentine’s Day discussion on some of the unusual ways wild animals court and mate. Drinks on you, conversation on us!
New England’s Long Ago Elephants: Woolly Mammoths and Mastodons
Discover the long-lost lives of the woolly mammoths and mastodons that once roamed New England with Harris Center naturalist and woolly mammoth lover Susie Spikol!
Bobcats Before Breakfast: John Kulish, His Book, and His Legacy
Join Susie Spikol and Meade Cadot to learn about the Harris Center’s first naturalist, John Kulish. Dig deeper into the life of this charismatic trapper-turned conservationist and, if conditions allow, do one of the things he loved the most – winter tracking!
3rd Annual Norway Pond Symposium
Join us for a day of talks highlighting recent research, and plans for future study, on the ecology of Norway Pond in Hancock.