North Branch Nature Center
Yurt Dedication & Juneteenth Celebration
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontPlease join us to dedicate “Dot’s Place” and to celebrate Juneteenth in a ceremony featuring drumming and dancing by Shidaa, and music by the New Alpha Choir. Then enjoy a community potluck/picnic – bring your picnic dinner and/or a dish to share. Beverages and dessert will be provided.
Biodiversity Jamboree!
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontBack again by popular demand, the Vermont Center for Ecostudies and North Branch Nature Center present a summer nature festival for all ages!
Robin’s Nest Nature Playgroup
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontRobin’s Nest Nature Playgroup is a free, weekly activity for families to gather, learn, and play in nature.
Woody Plants in the Field – Biodiversity University
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontPart of NBNC's Biodiversity University series.
Wildlife Tracking: Summer Tracks & Signs – Biodiversity University
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontYou might associate wildlife tracking with winter snow, but paying attention to wildlife activity is a year-round practice, and one that invites us into closer connection with our wild neighbors. With a bit of instruction and attunement to subtle signs, the trained tracker finds the summer landscape rich with stories of territorial marking, feeding, denning, and more.
Eco-Printing Workshop (afternoon) with Visiting Teacher-Naturalist Noelani Jones
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontLearn how to eco-print on cloth with natural plant dyes!
Eco-Printing Workshop (morning) with Visiting Teacher-Naturalist Noelani Jones
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontLearn how to eco-print on cloth with natural plant dyes!
Spring Family Nature Discovery Hike
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontCome explore all the activity happening around NBNC on a Spring Discovery Hike. We'll listen to birdsong at a Sit Spot, see if we can find tadpoles or frogs in vernal pools, and look for flowers in the field as we take in all that spring has to offer.
Open Studio Hours with Visiting Teacher-Naturalist Noelani Jones
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontCome visit with our first Visiting Teacher-Naturalist at NBNC, Noelani Jones, ask questions, and view their work and process while they are printing and/or weaving at NBNC!
Open Studio Hours with Visiting Teacher-Naturalist Noelani Jones
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontCome visit with our first Visiting Teacher-Naturalist at NBNC, Noelani Jones, ask questions, and view their work and process while they are printing and/or weaving at NBNC!
Spring Member Night at NBNC
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontPlease 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.
Mother’s Day Wildflower Walk
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontA casual search for spring wildflowers along the NBNC trails in celebration of Mother's Day.
History on the Land – Biodiversity University
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontDiscover 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.
Birding in the Northeast Kingdom
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermontn 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.
April Break Camp 2024 (K-3rd grade)
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontSpring 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.
Peents n’ Peeps – Spring Sounds at NBNC
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontAn 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.
Earth Day Tree Planting at NBNC
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontJoin 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.
Birding Basics Class
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontBecome 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
Natural Selections: a NBNC fundraiser
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontAn 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).
Educating Children Outdoors Book Launch and Art Gallery Reception
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontJoin 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.
Amphibian Road Crossing Program – Ecology & Training Night (ZOOM)
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontJoin 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.
All Things Eclipse: a presentation by the Vermont Astronomical Society
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontJoin Jack St. Louis, president of the Vermont Astronomical Society, to learn why eclipses happen, where to look, what to expect, and how to safely view the eclipse.
Needle Felting Workshop with Neysa Russo
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontNeedle 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.
Seabirding Along the Atlantic Coast – Winter Birding in Cape Ann, MA
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontThis 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.
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.
Lake Champlain Waterfowl Watch
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontJoin NBNC Birding Ambassador Chip Darmstadt on the shores of Lake Champlain in search of winter waterfowl.
Understanding Forest Carbon: How Forests Mitigate Climate Change with Ali Kosiba (IN-PERSON)
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont(IN-PERSON) | Learn all about forests and the carbon they sequester and store. Dr. Kosiba will showcase the complex forest carbon cycle, from living trees down to the soil.
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.
Wildlife Tracking Club
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontExplore with NBNC naturalists and fellow nature lovers in a casual search of wildlife tracks and sign every Sunday morning in February.
Winter Ecology – Biodiversity University
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontInstructed 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.
Getting to 30 by 30: The Science and Stories of Conserving Land with Gus Goodwin (IN PERSON)
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont(IN-PERSON) | The science and strategy that guides The Nature Conservancy to pursue the places, projects, and partnerships that make Vermont such a remarkable state.
Intermediate Winter Wildlife Tracking
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontJoin 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.
POSTPONED TO 2/20: Getting to 30 by 30: The Science and Stories of Conserving Land with Gus Goodwin (IN PERSON)
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont(IN-PERSON) | The science and strategy that guides The Nature Conservancy to pursue the places, projects, and partnerships that make Vermont such a remarkable state.
Winter Birding in the Northeast Kingdom
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermontn 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.
Winter Birding in the Champlain Valley
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontJoin 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.
Needle Felting Workshop with Neysa Russo
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontNeedle 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.
Coming Back Home: Turning Towards Uncertainty, Wonder and Connection with Amy Butler (IN-PERSON)
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont(IN-PERSON) | In a time of compounded stress and anxiety about our current climate crisis, nature is our guide to restoring a healthy and balanced dynamic between ourselves, one another and the earth.
Under the Smoke: Boreal Forest Wildfire, Ecology, and Culture in Northern Quebec with Naomi Heindel (IN-PERSON)
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont(IN-PERSON) | Visit the boreal forest, learn some fire ecology, take a look at the wildfires' impacts on the James Bay Cree, and explore the complicated mix of climate change and logging at play in these forests.
Wool Rugs, Grazing Sheep, and Climate Change: What’s the Connection? with Kimberly Hagen (IN-PERSON)
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, Vermont(IN-PERSON) | What does a wool rug have to do with climate change? A lot!
Snow Day “Spooning” – Woodcarving with Ken Benton
North Branch Nature Center 713 Elm Street, Montpelier, VermontLearn 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.
