RiverFest!
September 20 At North Branch Nature Center
1 - 5 pm | Free
A late-summer nature festival for all ages celebrating our rivers and promoting healthy watersheds! Explore the shores of the North Branch, encountering activity stations all along the way. Native plant sales, nature walks, river science labs, art projects, demonstrations, music, and more! Explore, play, celebrate, and learn what you can do to support healthy rivers in our community.
Activities
River Critters Lab
A streamside exploratory lab featuring the creatures caught in the North Branch. Hosted by NBNC naturalist educators.
Native Plant Sale
Flowers, shrubs, and trees for floodplains and backyards. For sale by the Farm Upstream, Bird and Bee Native Plants, and Intervale Conservation Nursery.
Watershed Exploration Station
Learn how rivers and watersheds work with interactive tabletop exhibits by Lake Champlain Sea Grant and VT Rivers Program.
Nature Walks
Hour-long, naturalist-led explorations of river flora, fauna, geology, and more. See field walk schedule below.
River Arts & Crafts
Create artwork inspired by the river. Draw, paint, write poetry, and more with Vermont River Conservancy and NBNC.
Face Painting
Become a fish, a turtle, a beaver, or even a stonefly nymph! Hosted by NBNC staff.
Music at the Beach
Acoustic performance at Pebble Beach. Swim, play, picnic, and relax by the river to the original music and folk tunes of Matt Delligatti (guitar) and Brittany Karlson (upright bass). Sets at 1:30–2:30 and 3:00–4:00.
Evening Paddle on Wrightsville Reservoir
Bring your own boat to the Wrightsville Reservoir Boat Launch five minutes north of NBNC for a naturalist-led canoe/kayak on the wilder parts of the lake. Departing from the launch at 5:30.
Nature Walk Schedule
See the event map at RiverFest for nature walk meeting location
1:00 – River Critters
Walk in the stream to find and catch fish, invertebrates, and other creatures for examination at the River Critters Lab. Led by NBNC naturalists.
1:30 – Birds
Meet the common birds that depend on riverside habitats in Central Vermont. Binoculars available. Led by NBNC naturalists.
2:00 – Plants
Explore the common plants and trees of our riverside forests, and collect seeds for propagation with Brooke Fleischman and Intervale Conservation Nursery
2:30 – River Critters
Walk in the stream to find and catch fish, invertebrates, and other creatures for examination at the River Critters Lab. Led by NBNC naturalists.
3:00 – How Rivers Work (River Science 101)
Learn to "read" the rivers and predict where and why streams cause erosion, deposition, flooding, and more. Uncover the North Branch story with Vermont River Conservancy.
3:30 – Pollinators
Meet the important bees, moths, and butterflies that pollinate the flowers in our floodplain with Spencer Hardy of Vermont Center for Ecostudies.
4:00 – Mini-Pumpkin Regatta Race
Visit the Friends of the Winooski River table earlier in the afternoon to buy a mini-pumpkin. Race begins at Otter Rock, and may the fastest pumpkin win!
5:30 – Evening Paddle
Bring your own boat to the Wrightsville Reservoir Boat Launch five minutes north of NBNC for a canoe/kayak on the wilder parts of the lake. Led by NBNC naturalists. Departing from the launch at 5:30.
Sponsored by:
This project has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreement (LC 00A01526-0) to NEIWPCC in partnership with the Lake Champlain Basin Program.
713 Elm Street
Montpelier, Vermont 05602
(802) 229-6206
Hours: Center Open Monday-Friday 9-4
Trails Open 24/7
