Willow: A Beaver’s Tale with Patti Smith – Naturalist Journeys Online Presentation Series

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

Follow the life of Willow, the remarkable matriarch of a beaver colony on a wild brook in southeastern Vermont.  Naturalist Patti Smith has spent over a decade with Willow's clan, documenting their trials and triumphs.  During this presentation she will share the stories, pictures and videos that celebrate this beaver and the world she created. Along the way, meet Terrible Jack, a lonely moose, and other wildlife drawn to the habitat created by the beavers.

The Real Dirt on Truffles with Rowan Jacobsen – Naturalist Journeys Online Presentation Series

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

Truffles are the world’s most mysterious and expensive food, but they are also an essential part of the forest ecosystem, linking trees and animals in a web of relationship that extends from the forest floor to the human communities around the world that depend on truffles for their livelihoods and celebrate them in their culinary traditions. Join award-winning writer Rowan Jacobsen on this deep dive into the world of truffles, from Italy and Istria to the wilds of the Northeast.

Life of a Conservation Photographer: Stories from the Field with Isabelle Groc – Naturalist Journeys Online Presentation Series

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

From photographing mountain caribou from a helicopter to working with scientists capturing narwhal in the freezing waters of the Arctic, Isabelle has many field stories and photographs to share. In this presentation she highlights her work with scientists in the field, how she develops trust, builds story angles, adapts to different working environments, and how her photography and stories can help build public exposure on important science and conservation work.

Racing the Clock with Bernd Heinrich – Naturalist Journeys Online Presentation Series

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

An award-winning, much-loved biologist turns his gaze on himself, using his long-distance running to illuminate the changes to a human body over a lifetime. Part memoir, part scientific investigation, Racing the Clock is the book biologist and natural historian Bernd Heinrich has been waiting his entire life to write. A dedicated and accomplished marathon (and ultra-marathon) runner who won his first marathon at age thirty-nine, Heinrich looks deeply at running, aging, and the body, exploring the unresolved relationship between metabolism, diet, exercise, and age. 

Attracting Bees and Beneficial Insects with Native Plants by Heather Holm – Naturalist Journeys Online Presentation Series

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

Most insects have a positive impact in our landscapes. Native plants can be selected to attract specific bees and beneficial insects including predatory and parasitic wasps, beetles, flies, true bugs, and lacewings. Learn about the predator-prey relationships of these flower-visiting beneficial insects and how they help keep problem insect populations in balance. The life cycles, diversity, and nesting habitat of native bees will also be covered along with examples of native plants for different site conditions.

Alpine Habitats, Climate Change, and Rosy-Finches with Carl Brown – Naturalist Journeys Online Presentation Series

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

Alpine ecosystems are rapidly changing in the face of climate change, with their avian occupants relatively understudied. From cliff nesting rosy-finches, to tundra obligate pipits and generalist sparrows, these communities face the potential for massive change in a warming environment. In this presentation, Carl Brown will discuss habitat associations that lend to climate vulnerability, potential arctic parallels, and the adventures of nest searching on alpine cliffs in the Rocky Mountains.

Birdability: because birding is for everybody and every body! – Naturalist Journeys Online Presentation Series

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

Birding is an activity that can bring so much joy and empowerment to everybody, but not everybody is able to go birding easily. Birdability is a brand new non-profit, based in the US but with a global reach. Through education, outreach and advocacy, Birdability works to ensure the birding community and the outdoors are welcoming, inclusive, safe and accessible for everybody. We focus on people with mobility challenges, blindness or low vision, chronic illness, intellectual or developmental disabilities, mental illness, and those who are neurodivergent, deaf or hard of hearing or who have other health concerns. In addition to current birders, we strive to introduce birding to people with disabilities and other health concerns who are not yet birders so they too can experience the joys of birding. 

Science Communication Through Art with Jill Pelto (Virtual Presentation)

Online

(Live via Zoom) | Jill Pelto is an artist and scientist whose work focuses on communicating human-environment connections. She incorporates scientific data directly into her paintings — from local trends to global changes. Jill creates artwork that engages broad audiences with climate change data in ways that are emotionally relevant.

Indigenous Plant Uses in Southern Greenland with Dr. Simone Whitecloud (Virtual Presentation)

Online

(Live via Zoom) | Dr. Whitecloud will discuss the role of plant knowledge among the Inuit of Southern Greenland. She and her collaborator, Dr. Lenore Grenoble, documented more than 50 taxa and 205 plant uses in seven broad categories: medicine, beverages, food, herbs and spices, fuel, ritual, and material culture, the last category consisting primarily of decorative uses.

The Spread of Deer Ticks in North America with Lucas Price (IN-PERSON)

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

(IN PERSON) | Black-legged ticks are the primary tick species responsible for spreading Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, in the northeastern United States. This talk will provide an overview of the tick life cycle, how ticks obtain and spread pathogens, and what habitats they live in.

The Wolves and Moose of Isle Royale with Ky and Lisa Koitzsch (IN-PERSON)

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

(IN PERSON) | Join wildlife biologists Ky and Lisa Koitzsch as they share their experiences studying wolves and moose in Isle Royale National Park. Isle Royale is a remote island wilderness located 15 miles from the shores of Ontario and Minnesota in the frigid waters of Lake Superior.

Vermont’s Wild Bees: past, present, and future with Spencer Hardy (IN-PERSON)

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

(IN PERSON) | The new State of Vermont's Bees provides the first detailed look at the conservation status and needs of these important pollinators. Included in this presentation will be advice and suggestions for improving the habitat in your community, through both consumer decisions and land management. 

North Branch Nature Center’s History on the Land with Samantha Ford (IN-PERSON)

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

(IN PERSON) | Uncover the history of the historic farmhouse and farm that North Branch Nature Center calls home. Learn how to read the landscape to reveal history hidden in plain sight. Peel back the layers of time with landscape historian Samantha Ford of Turn Stone Research to learn how past generations have shaped the land at the NBNC property.

Ben Cosgrove: Music of the Environment SOLD OUT

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

(IN-PERSON) | Ben Cosgrove is a traveling composer-performer whose music explores themes of landscape, place, and environment.

How to Love a Forest: Discussion and Book Launch with Ethan Tapper

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

In How to Love a Forest, forester and author Ethan Tapper helps us reimagine what forests are and what it means to care for them. This evening will feature readings, presentation, and an interview with NBNC staff.