North Branch Nature Center bug watch
North Branch Nature Center bug watch
North Branch Nature Center river
North Branch Nature Center kids
North Branch Nature Center building
North Branch Nature Center beaver
North Branch Nature Center beaver
About

NBNC’s 28 acres of fields, woods, and river offers opportunities for all ages to play, learn, and explore in nature!

Calendar

Visit our calendar to explore upcoming offerings,
from art gallery openings, to afterschool programs,
to educators institutes, to family events and more.

Visit our calendar to explore upcoming offerings,
from art gallery openings, to afterschool programs,
to educators institutes, to family events and more.

Nature Programs

As Central Vermont’s hub for nature education, we offer expert presentations, field trips, and workshops to enrich your understanding of the natural world.

Education

Our distinguished nature-based education programs immerse children in extraordinary learning environments with an acclaimed, innovative teaching team.

Rentals

Our beautiful facility is popular to rent – inside, outside, or both – for meetings, classes, presentations, and family celebrations.

Comm Sci

From amphibians to Saw-whet Owls, North Branch Nature Center studies and protects local wildlife with the support of passionate volunteer scientists.

Support-slide

Please support NBNC by becoming a member, volunteering, and/or making a financial gift to help us connect even more people with the natural world!

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Connecting People with the Natural World

North Branch Nature Center connects people with environmental education, natural history, and community science. More than 17,000 people visit NBNC to be in touch with the sights, sounds, and sensations of the natural world.

Our 28-acre preserve of forest and fields is nestled in a gentle bend of the North Branch of the Winooski River, just two miles from downtown Montpelier. NBNC is the delight in the eyes of children as they watch fireflies in a field.  NBNC is a group of naturalists exploring the secrets of warblers and willows. And it's a quiet place to walk or ski, swim or sit, or simply relax beside the river. There is much to explore. Please join us.

Boy2withbinocs

NBNC News Watch

Summer Camp Spots Available!

We still have spaces open in many of our summer camps! PreK through 6th grade kids will channel their inner salamanders, learn to build like beavers, and explore like foxes. Learn more.

History on the Land - a two-day course

History on the Land: Old Forested Farmscapes | May 8-9
If you are excited about stone walls and cellar holes, this course is for you. Instructed by landscape historian Samantha Ford, this course will help you see the woods in a whole new way. Learn More.

Homeschool: April 28 - June 9 Opening!

Modeled on our ECO (Educating Children Outdoors) program, the ECO Homeschool program takes the classroom entirely outdoors. Each Monday, the woods and fields surrounding North Branch Nature Center will be our classroom, whether it's deep in the woods, or along the banks of the North Branch itself. Learn More

Robins Nest

Our Land Acknowledgement

North Branch Nature Center acknowledges that we reside upon the traditional and unceded home of the Western Abenaki People. These lands and waters have been a site of meeting and exchange among Indigenous Peoples for thousands of years. North Branch Nature Center honors, recognizes and respects the Abenaki as the traditional stewards of this landscape. We strive to respect and protect this land, while continually honoring the legacy of Vermont’s Indigenous People, the Abenaki People of the Dawn.

Robins Nest

The River's Edge Blog

Hunting for Connections

By Naomi Heindel, Executive Director and Chelsea Clarke Sawyer, Communications Coordinator Our Executive Director Naomi Heindel sat down with three ...
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History on the Land – Part Two

By Samantha Ford, Owner of Turn Stone Research Editor’s Note: Read Part One of this series, focusing on the Nye ...
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Planting Tomorrow’s Forest

By Sean Beckett, Program Director Live in Vermont for 30 years, and you think you know maple trees — until ...
Read More
Robins Nest

More about North Branch Nature Center

Robins Nest

Connecting People with the Natural World

North Branch Nature Center

713 Elm Street
Montpelier, Vermont 05602
(802) 229-6206

Hours: Center Open Monday-Friday 9-4
Trails Open 24/7