This course will teach people how to easily identify wasps to family level while out in the field, and by the end of it our most ubiquitous, as well as many of our lesser-seen wasps will be easily identified by the participants. The course will take place primarily out in the fields and woods of the expansive land of North Branch, but will also be offset by short lectures to learn the distinguishing morphology of the wasps we encounter. 

A one-day course in low-water and floodplain grasses, sedges, and woodies along the lower Winooski River. Vermont has about forty species of late-blooming sedges (mostly), rushes (a few) and grasses (even fewer) that are best sought on river and lake shores in late summer and fall. They are a distinctive and fascinating flora; the lower Winooski is one of the best places to find them and learn them. A Northern Forest Atlas day course hosted by NBNC's Biodiversity University.

In this course, participants will explore the diversity and ecological importance of the kingdom of fungi. Over this two-day course, participants will learn the fundamentals of mushroom identification through a combination of classroom and field experience. Topics include fungi ecology, taxonomy, field identification, morphology, edibility, toxicity, fungi as medicine, bioremediation, utilitarian function, as well as ‘best’ harvesting practices.

Learning to identify trees can be a powerful way to connect to your local landscape. They are big, charismatic, and always around us, and knowing who they are provides a baseline of ecological understanding for the rest of our surroundings. Join Jonathan Shapiro of Fox Paw School for a dive into tree ID, focusing on a pattern-based approach that we are hardwired to understand. We'll talk about tree silhouettes, branching patterns, leaf shapes, bark, and more, and you'll leave with the observational skills to learn not only trees, but the rest of your landscape as well. By meeting in three different seasons, we'll have the opportunity to see how trees' lives change throughout the cycle of the year, and how they fit into the broader ecological context of our North Woods home.

Wild Art is a form of dialogue between you and the world beyond your skin; a means of expressing what you sense inside yourself and what you attune to around you. We will first engage in a sensory awareness practice, then go onto the land to be in conversation with the plants, animals, and wild elements. Utilizing the ancient art form of the mandala, we will create our own expressions of wholeness, attentiveness, and relationship to the Wild, inside, and out. 

Explore the art and practice of nature journaling with NBNC Teacher-Naturalist Fiona Modrak. Using the practice of nature journaling, we will sharpen our observational skills, practice being curious, and learn new ways to explore nature.

A climate change-themed winter book club to read All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, a 2020 anthology of climate change essays edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson. Described as “provocative and illuminating writings from women at the forefront of the climate movement who are harnessing truth, courage, and solutions to lead humanity forward,” this book offers a very human look into climate change, how it impacts us, and why it really matters to us.

Explore the art and practice of nature journaling with NBNC Teacher-Naturalist Fiona Modrak. Using the practice of nature journaling, we will sharpen our observational skills, practice being curious, and learn new ways to explore nature.

Learn the story behind the wood as we go from log to spoon.  We’ll follow the process covering  tree identification, natural history, ethical harvest and processing from the round into billets. Moving indoors, we’ll learn to read the grain while laying out patterns and carving away all wood that isn’t spoon.  By the end of the day you’ll come away with a nearly finished spoon with a built in story to tell dinner guests while serving food. Bring your own fixed blade knife and come dressed for the weather. Led by NBNC Naturalist and Director of Education, Ken Benton.

Needle felting is a simple technique that uses barbed needles to decorate a felt surface with design. There will be an abundance of designs to choose from that are perfect for sampling this technique and more complex projects for those who would like a challenge. Along the way, you will build your needling skills, gain design experience, and experiment with color.

Join NBNC naturalist and wildlife tracker Dave Muska for a full day of tracking and trailing wildlife, aimed at participants already holding some basic knowledge of track and sign identification. We'll start in the classroom to review the tracks, gaits, habitats, and signs of species we might encounter on the late winter landscape. We'll then head out on the land to search for sign and explore the who, what, where, when, why and how of animal tracks.

Instructed by Jason Mazurowski. Students will learn to read Vermont’s winter landscape, from the ice age relics that still inhabit our alpine summits, to the warming waters of Lake Champlain. 

Needle felting is a simple technique that uses barbed needles to decorate a felt surface with design. There will be an abundance of designs to choose from that are perfect for sampling this technique and more complex projects for those who would like a challenge. Along the way, you will build your needling skills, gain design experience, and experiment with color.

Become a better birder! In this class, you’ll develop a breadth of knowledge and skills to better appreciate Vermont’s common and not-so-common birdlife. Instructed by Chip Darmstadt

Discover how to “read” old forested farmscapes and agricultural architecture to trace 300 years of land use history in Vermont. Stone walls, cellar holes, old roads, and other mysteries “lost” in the woods reveal stories of the families who shaped the landscape as we see it today.