Calendar of Events
LGBTQIA+ Community Hike on the Monadnock Branch Rail Trail
Join Richard Doherty (he/him), Audrey Dunn (she/her), and Hunter Kirschner (he/they) for an LGBTQIA+ community hike along the Monadnock Branch Rail Trail in Jaffrey.
The Acorn: A Kids’ Nature-Inspired Newspaper
Hancock Town Library 25 Main Street, Hancock, NH, United StatesCome be part of the Hancock Town Library and the Harris Center’s first-ever, kid-created nature newspaper, The Acorn: Where We Are Nuts About Nature. Work with mentor writers and artists and publish the winter edition. For children in grades 2 through 4.
Ask A Naturalist
Join our team of talented naturalists as they explore some of the region’s most intriguing natural history mysteries. If you have questions you’d like us to answer (“what’s this thing I found in the woods?!”), submit them by January 23!
Birding the Dillant-Hopkins Airport
Join Harris Center ecologist Nate Marchessault and the Monadnock Bird and Nature Club (MBNC) for a morning of easygoing birding at the Dillant-Hopkins Airport — a local birding hotspot with great views of wetlands, woodlands, and fields.
Homeschool Program: Wild at Home
Harris Center for Conservation Education 83 Kings Hwy, Hancock, NH, United StatesCalling all animal allies, nature noticers, and outdoor explorers! Join Harris Center naturalists Karen Rent and Susie Spikol to let your wild side out this winter. Uncover your wonder, and let the natural world be your teacher. Tracks, scat, birds, snow — come discover it all.
The Acorn: A Kids’ Nature-Inspired Newspaper
Hancock Town Library 25 Main Street, Hancock, NH, United StatesCome be part of the Hancock Town Library and the Harris Center’s first-ever, kid-created nature newspaper, The Acorn: Where We Are Nuts About Nature. Work with mentor writers and artists and publish the winter edition. For children in grades 2 through 4.
For the Birds: An Evening of Short Films
Join us for an evening of award-winning short films highlighting the beauty, bravery, and perils of bird migration, and the people who spend their lives working to make the world safer for birds.
The Kestrels Young Birders Club: Great Backyard Bird Count
Are you a teenager or tween 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.
Winter Tracking Adventure for Families
Join Harris Center naturalist Nikko Gagnon for a family tracking adventure in the wilds of Ashuelot River Park. We’ll search the woods and river edges for leapers, bounders, waddlers, and walkers, and find out which wildlife call this special place home.
Trees & Tracks at Beech Hill
Join Jeremy Wilson and Susie Spikol to explore the highlands of Dublin from the beautiful Beech Hill trail network. Along the way, we’ll discuss the natural history of trees in winter and search for tracks, scat, and other signs of animals who make their homes in these woods.
Homeschool Program: Wild at Home
Harris Center for Conservation Education 83 Kings Hwy, Hancock, NH, United StatesCalling all animal allies, nature noticers, and outdoor explorers! Join Harris Center naturalists Karen Rent and Susie Spikol to let your wild side out this winter. Uncover your wonder, and let the natural world be your teacher. Tracks, scat, birds, snow — come discover it all.
Easygoing Hike at The Shattuck
Join Harris Center naturalist Phil Brown and avid hiker Jessie James for a leisurely, 3-mile meander along the paths of the Shattuck Golf Club, where we'll search for signs of wildlife and take in all that late winter has to offer.
iNaturalist ID Session
Join avid iNatters Nate Marchessault and Steven Lamonde for a cozy morning of improving iNaturalist data quality by adding identifications and annotations to existing iNaturalist observations. With mugs of warm beverages in our hands and field guides by our sides, we'll enjoy the outdoors through the eyes of others and contribute to community science in the process.
Winter Camp
Harris Center for Conservation Education 83 Kings Hwy, Hancock, NH, United StatesJoin Harris Center teacher-naturalists for three active days in the great outdoors! Bring your curiosity and sense of wonder as we explore our favorite trails, giant boulders, and secret dens. Registration opens on January 3.
Wilderness Survival Skills for Middle Schoolers
Harris Center for Conservation Education 83 Kings Hwy, Hancock, NH, United StatesJoin Harris Center teacher-naturalist John Benjamin for two days of learning essential winter survival skills, from fire building and water gathering to preparing for winter hikes and simple first aid. Come prepared for outdoor fun, and we’ll teach you the rest!
Winter Camp
Harris Center for Conservation Education 83 Kings Hwy, Hancock, NH, United StatesJoin Harris Center teacher-naturalists for three active days in the great outdoors! Bring your curiosity and sense of wonder as we explore our favorite trails, giant boulders, and secret dens. Registration opens on January 3.
Wilderness Survival Skills for Middle Schoolers
Harris Center for Conservation Education 83 Kings Hwy, Hancock, NH, United StatesJoin Harris Center teacher-naturalist John Benjamin for two days of learning essential winter survival skills, from fire building and water gathering to preparing for winter hikes and simple first aid. Come prepared for outdoor fun, and we’ll teach you the rest!
Winter Camp
Harris Center for Conservation Education 83 Kings Hwy, Hancock, NH, United StatesJoin Harris Center teacher-naturalists for three active days in the great outdoors! Bring your curiosity and sense of wonder as we explore our favorite trails, giant boulders, and secret dens. Registration opens on January 3.
Homeschool Program: Wild at Home
Harris Center for Conservation Education 83 Kings Hwy, Hancock, NH, United StatesCalling all animal allies, nature noticers, and outdoor explorers! Join Harris Center naturalists Karen Rent and Susie Spikol to let your wild side out this winter. Uncover your wonder, and let the natural world be your teacher. Tracks, scat, birds, snow — come discover it all.
An Evening with the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire
Join JerriAnne Boggis, Executive Director of the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH), for a presentation on BHTNH’s work to raise awareness of African American history and life stories in the Granite State.
The Kestrels Young Birders Club: Snowy Owl Search on Plum Island
Are you a teenager or tween 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.
Animal Songs & Stories Family Concert
At this special concert preschoolers and their families will take a musical journey into the animal world through song and dance. Teacher-naturalist and musician Jazimina Creamer-MacNeil will head up a fun, free hour-long program where children and parents learn about local animals. All ages are welcome.
Birding Plum Island
Join avid birders Kim Snyder and Nate Marchessault to search for seabirds, shorebirds, and maybe even Snowy Owls along the 8-mile barrier beach and adjacent marshes of Plum Island — a prime spot for winter birding.
Homeschool Program: Wild at Home
Harris Center for Conservation Education 83 Kings Hwy, Hancock, NH, United StatesCalling all animal allies, nature noticers, and outdoor explorers! Join Harris Center naturalists Karen Rent and Susie Spikol to let your wild side out this winter. Uncover your wonder, and let the natural world be your teacher. Tracks, scat, birds, snow — come discover it all.
South Meadow School: Afterschool Yeti Club
South Meadow School Hancock Road, Peterborough, New Hampshire, United StatesCome be a part of fun and adventure in the woods with Yeti Club! We’ll practice wilderness skills like orienteering, fire building, outdoor survival skills, tracking, and more. Open to students in grades 5 through 8 at South Meadow School. Free of charge.
Salamander Crossing Brigade Workshop
Every year, the Harris Center trains community scientists to serve on Salamander Crossing Brigades at amphibian road crossings throughout the Monadnock Region. Attend this fun, information-packed volunteer training to join their ranks – or simply to learn more about the remarkable spring amphibian migration.
Safe Crossing: Spring Amphibians with Kari Percival
Join award-winning children’s book author Kari Percival as she shares from her newest book, Safe Crossing, which tells the story of how people of all ages come together on the first rainy nights of spring to help salamanders and frogs cross roads during their spring migration.
Easygoing Hike Along the Boulder Trail
Join Phil Brown and Ben Haubrich for a leisurely one-mile ramble on the Harris Center’s East Side Trails, where we’ll look for mammal tracks, listen to spring birdsong, and take in the beauty of the giant glacial boulders.
South Meadow School: Afterschool Yeti Club
South Meadow School Hancock Road, Peterborough, New Hampshire, United StatesCome be a part of fun and adventure in the woods with Yeti Club! We’ll practice wilderness skills like orienteering, fire building, outdoor survival skills, tracking, and more. Open to students in grades 5 through 8 at South Meadow School. Free of charge.
Family Owl Prowl
Have a hoot with naturalists and owl lovers Jaime Hutchinson and Susie Spikol as we dare to be animal adventurers! We’ll quietly prowl the twilight woods in search of wild owls, find out how these amazing nighttime hunters catch their meals, and even learn to speak owl. Perfect for families with children age 5 and up.
