Adult and Family Nature Programs

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EVERGREEN WALK & CRAFT

  • Wreath: Friday, December 8, 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM
  • Swag: Saturday, December 9, 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM
  • Location: Arboretum Gardens
  • Ages: 5 through Adult, All children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Cost: $15 per project 
  • Instructor: Laura Bush, Principal Park Naturalist

Warm up with a winter nature walk around the Arboretum! Do you know the difference between pines, spruces, and hemlocks? Can you find different shades of green? What’s the difference between a conifer and an evergreen? Let’s find out the answers to these questions while exploring your local park. Bring your own clippers and a tote bag to collect some greens during the walk. We will then assemble a wreath or swag to use in holiday decorating. Families may work together on one project or pay per person to each create their own. Please note: this is a fully outdoor program, so dress for the weather.

NATURE CREATED CANDLES 

  • Date: Sunday, December 17
  • Date: 2:00 PM to 3:15 PMcandle
  • Location: Echo Hill Park Main Lodge
  • Ages: 4 through Adult, All children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Cost: $8/person
  • Instructor: Debra Reed, Park Naturalist

Take a winter walk through our park to discover the sights and smells of the season.  We will gather these crisp natural aromas and 
preserve them in homemade candles. They will make a great gift for the season.  We will discover how many different evergreens grow here. Conifers are an ancient and diverse group of trees, but are all conifers evergreen?  Are all cones, pinecones? Join us to create and learn more about these amazing trees that decorate so many homes at this time of year.   

OWLS OF HUNTERDON

  • screech owl red - Owl WalkDate: Thursday, December 14
  • Time: 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
  • Location: Echo Hill Park
  • Ages: 8 through Adult, All children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Cost: $8/person
  • Instructor: Tom Sheppard, Chief Park Naturalist

Great Horned Owls are already beginning to think about their breeding season. This is the time that we can start hearing the owls calling at night. We will introduce you to the owls that can be found in Hunterdon County and the state. Along with facts about each of the owls, you will hear the calls of each species and learn the fundamentals of how to find the species. 

SECOND DAY HIKE

  • Date: Tuesday, January 2
  • Time: 1:00 PM to 3:30 PMbird study merit badge bins and book
  • Location: Musconetcong Mountain Preserve
  • Ages: 10 through Adult, All Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Cost: $12 per person 
  • Instructor: Laura Bush, Principal Park Naturalist

Welcome the new year with some fresh air and exercise! Musconetcong Mountain is a lollipop trail downhill on the way out and uphill on the way back. It traverses woods, passes the ruins of a farmstead, and finishes up at a stream. Expect to hike about 2.5 miles. 

BIRD WALK FOR THE NEW YEAR

  • Date: Wednesday, January 3
  • Time: 8:00 AM to 10:30 AM
  • Location: Hoffman Park–Baptist Church Road Lot
  • Age: Adult
  • Cost: $12 Per person 
  • Instructor: Tom Sheppard, Chief Park Naturalist

The new year has started. Join us for a bird walk around Hoffman Park. For those of you that keep a year-list of birds, this will be a great way to get a jump on your new list. We will search the open areas and edge habitat and take a walk through the woods looking for any winter visitors and the normal residents.

REPTILES ALIVE

  • reptileDate: Sunday, January 7,
  • Time: 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
  • Location: Echo Hill Park Main Lodge
  • Ages: All ages, All children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Cost: $8 per person
  • Instructor: Debra Reed, Park Naturalist

Live animals are fun and educational for everyone! Join us for an interesting and interactive afternoon as we learn about these scaly critters. Many snakes and turtles live here in Hunterdon. Find out if snakes are slimy and how fast a turtle moves. Discover what reptiles need our protection and which reptiles should be observed at a distance. This program is an exciting experience for the entire family.   

WINTER WILDERNESS SURVIVAL SKILLS

  • Date: Sunday, January 14 
  • Time: 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
  • Location: Echo Hill 
  • Ages: 8 through Adult 
  • All children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Cost: $8 per person
  • Instructor: Debra Reed, Park Naturalist

Do you know what to do if something doesn’t go according to plan on your cold outdoor adventures? Join us to learn the essentials of preparing for the outdoors, how to build a basic shelter, fire, and some basic first aid skills.

CONSTELLATIONS, THEIR MYTHS, & THE KING 

  • Date: Friday, January 19
  • Time: 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
  • Location: Hoffman Park –Baptist Church Road Lot
  • Ages: 10 through Adult, All children must be accompanied by an adult 
  • Cost: $8 per person
  • Instructor: Tom Sheppard, Chief Park Naturalist

Before the computer, TVs, and even books, all civilizations had was the sky above them.  Join us for an evening as we gaze at the stars and share the season’s constellations and the myths/stories that went along with them. We will also take time and look at the King of the Gods, Jupiter. 

WINTER TRACKING

  • Date: Saturday, January 27
  • Time: 9:30 AM to 10:30 AMwinter tracking
  • Location: Teetertown Preserve
  • Ages: All Ages, All children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Cost: $8 per person
  • Instructor: Laura Bush, Principal Park Naturalist

A recent snowfall is the best time to look for animal tracks. Although much of our wildlife is nocturnal, we can learn what animals live near us by the clues they leave behind. Let’s take a tracking hike around Teetertown Preserve. Please dress for the weather. If there is no snow, we will look for tracks in the mud, as well as other signs of wildlife.

EVENING WALK FOR SCREECH OWLS 

  • Date: Friday, February 9 
  • Time: 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM
  • Location: Sunnyside Section of the South Branch
  • Ages: 12 through Adult, All children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Cost: $8 per person
  • Instructor: Tom Sheppard, Chief Park Naturalist

February is the time for owls. This nighttime walk will focus on etiquette one must use when owling. During this walk, we will attempt to call to the Eastern Screech Owls for a response. Depending on the assumed distance, we will try to draw one in for viewing, but no guarantees. The group is not permitted to bring flashlights or headlamps. The trail at Sunnyside is wide and flat and we will provide red lights for the limited walking that will be done for the program.

LOVE IN NATURE

  • Date: Tuesday, February 13
  • 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
  • Location: Echo Hill Park Main Lodge
  • Ages: 10 through Adult, All children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Cost: $8 per person 
  • Instructor: Laura Bush, Principal Park Naturalist

The male house wren constructs “dummy nests” of a few sticks in several different locations, and brings the female around on a “house-hunting” tour before she decides on the perfect spot for her nest. Male nursery web spiders present a parcel of food wrapped in silk as a gift for their chosen female. Male bowerbirds build a “bower” of sticks and decorate it with blue objects, and then dance for the females. In honor of Valentine’s Day, enjoy a slide show of various courtship rituals in nature around the world.

GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNTdowny in snow - New Year Bird 1

  • Date: Saturday, February 17
  • Time: 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM
  • Location: Point Mountain Central River Trail
  • Ages: 8 through Adult. All children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Cost: $8 
  • Instructor: Laura Bush, Principal Park Naturalist

Jointly sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is an annual event that engages bird watchers to create a real-time snapshot of where birds are across the continent. Take a bird walk to go over some bird identification tips and record what species are out there and how many of each. This data will be submitted to the GBBC to aid in citizen science research. For bird watchers of any ability. Please note: there are no restroom facilities available at this location. 

WINTER TREE ID

  • Date: Wednesday, February 21
  • Time: 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM
  • Location: Sourland Mountain Preserve
  • Ages: 8 through Adult, All children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Cost: $8 per person 
  • Instructor: Laura Bush, Principal Park Naturalist

Have you ever wondered how to identify trees after all the leaves have fallen? Don’t wait until summer! Learn how to identify trees by looking at their bark, buds, and shape. This trail is rocky and can sometimes be wet.

FULL MOON WALK

  • Date: Saturday, February 24
  • Time: 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM
  • Location: Arboretum  
  • Ages: 5 through Adult, All children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Cost: $8 per person
  • Instructor: Debra Reed, Park Naturalist

The hush of a winter night, one of the most stunning times of the year. Come out and watch the sunset while going for a walk in the park. Take some time to reflect, while encompassed in the beautiful tranquility that surrounds you in winter. Find out what is happening in nature during this transition from daylight to darkness.  

WOOD DUCK EXPLORATION

  • Date: Sunday, March 3
  • 1:00 PM to 2:15 PM woodduck
  • Location: South Branch Reservation, Wings Section
  • Ages: Adult
  • Cost: Free
  • Instructor: Debra Reed, Park Naturalist

Wood ducks arrive in Hunterdon at the beginning of March to raise their young. Join us to learn about these ducks, and other 
waterfowl that frequent the area. While walking along the river we will examine and prepare their nesting boxes for the 
soon-approaching mating season. Perhaps, if we are lucky, we will spot an early migrant to the area.