Birding Costa Rica

Costa Rica offers both a wonderful introduction to tropical birding and a destination to return to again and again. Twice the size of Vermont, the country has over 800 bird species, including 50 species of hummingbird alone.

Snow Day “Spooning” – Woodcarving with Ken Benton

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

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.

$50

Needle Felting Workshop with Neysa Russo

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

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.

$125

Winter Birding in the Champlain Valley

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

Join NBNC Birding Ambassador Chip Darmstadt on a trip to explore the shores, fields, and forests of the Champlain Valley in search of eagles, waterfowl, raptors, snow buntings, winter finches, owls, and more.

$75

Winter Birding in the Northeast Kingdom

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

n this winter adventure through the Kingdom with NBNC Birding Ambassador Chip Darmstadt, we'll visit birding hotspots in search of charismatic yet elusive bird species found nowhere else in the state.

$65

Intermediate Winter Wildlife Tracking

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

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.

$50

Tropical Panama for Teens

Our expert educators and Panama's premiere wildlife guides have worked together to build this unforgettable journey, designed with the goal of kindling a passion for nature connection and wildness that will last a lifetime.

Winter Ecology – Biodiversity University

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

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. 

$285

Winter Willows – Nature Retreat in the Northeast Kingdom

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

**For 6th - 8th graders who identify as girls, nonbinary, genderqueer, and/or trans.** Explore the winter wonderland of the Nulhegan Basin!  Our experience will be tailored to the interests of participants.  Activities could include: tool crafting, weaving, dream pillow making, animal tracking, fire by friction, snowshoeing or skiing in the woods, cooking on the wood stove or fire, and star gazing. This two-night retreat will have us exploring the snowy wonderland by day, and relaxing fireside in a warm and cozy winter cabin by night.

$200

Lake Champlain Waterfowl Watch

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

Join NBNC Birding Ambassador Chip Darmstadt on the shores of Lake Champlain in search of winter waterfowl.

$65

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.

Seabirding Along the Atlantic Coast – Winter Birding in Cape Ann, MA

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

This annual winter adventure is an outstanding opportunity to spend quality time with species rarely, if ever, seen in Vermont. This trip is not only about discovering rare species by land and sea, but about watching, enjoying, and studying seabirds among a community of like-minded nature lovers under the leadership of a first-class guide and educator.

$550

Needle Felting Workshop with Neysa Russo

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

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.

$125

Amphibian Road Crossing Program – Ecology & Training Night (ZOOM)

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

Join North Branch Nature Center scientists to learn about our Amphibian Road Crossing program, and find out how you can help Vermont’s frogs and salamanders safely cross the road during their annual spring movements.

Educating Children Outdoors Book Launch and Art Gallery Reception

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

Join us to celebrate the release of Educating Children Outdoors: Lessons in Nature-Based Learning by former NBNC Director of Education Amy Butler! We’ll also be celebrating the opening of our spring art show, featuring work from the book by local artist and illustrator Nick Neddo.

Natural Selections: a NBNC fundraiser

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

An evening of poetry, prose, music, and photography featuring poets Scudder Parker (Safe as Lightning) and Marjorie Ryerson (The Views from Mount Hunger), short readings from essayist and field naturalist Bryan Pfeiffer, and music by D. Davis (guitar) and Ruth Einstein (violin).

Birding Basics Class

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

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

$175

Earth Day Tree Planting at NBNC

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

Join us for a fun morning of giving back to the land to celebrate Earth Day! We will be transplanting small trees and shrubs to an area along the North Branch river in need of habitat restoration.

Peents n’ Peeps – Spring Sounds at NBNC

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

An evening of up close and personal listens and looks at springtime's most impressive crepuscular performances.  We'll attempt to creep up on spring peepers by following an individual peep amid the cacophonous chorus and try to pinpoint the peenting of american woodcocks before they lift off to perform their skydance.

April Break Camp 2024 (K-3rd grade)

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

Spring is a great time to explore the Nature Center. Children grades K-3 are invited to join us for a week of spring nature adventures and explorations. We’ll make art using natural materials, explore the fields and forest for signs of wildlife, try our hands at wild edible cooking, and give back to the land in celebration of Earth Day.

$70

Birding in the Northeast Kingdom

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

n this winter adventure through the Kingdom with NBNC Birding Ambassador Chip Darmstadt, we'll visit birding hotspots in search of charismatic yet elusive bird species found nowhere else in the state.

$65

History on the Land – Biodiversity University

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

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.

$285

Spring Birding at North Branch Nature Center

A casual morning of birding for all interests and experience levels facilitated by NBNC staff and guest leaders. These outings are about enjoying, learning about, and spending time with wild birds. No binoculars? No ID guide? No problem! The only requirement is an appreciation of birds (though we do have binoculars for those who would like them).

Spring Birding at Sodom Pond

A casual morning of birding for all interests and experience levels facilitated by NBNC staff and guest leaders. These outings are about enjoying, learning about, and spending time with wild birds. No binoculars? No ID guide? No problem! The only requirement is an appreciation of birds (though we do have binoculars for those who would like them).

Mother’s Day Wildflower Walk

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

A casual search for spring wildflowers along the NBNC trails in celebration of Mother's Day.

Spring Member Night at NBNC

North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont

Please join us for a special NBNC Member Night! This free event will be a casual, fun evening for members to get to know each other and NBNC staff and board members.