Winter Calendar of Events

Registration: (802) 434-3068.
Calendar updates: vermont@audubon.org
Scholarships available upon request.

Programs for Adults | Family Programs | Vacation Day Programs
Preschool Programs

Programs for Adults

Beyond Timber: Foods, Medicines, and Crafts from the Forest
Date: Saturday, January 9, 2010
Time: 9 a.m. to noon
Meeting Place: Education Barn,
Green Mountain Audubon Center
Fee: $20 recommended donation
Refreshments provided.

Allaire Diamond, consulting naturalist and ecologist of Goldthread Consulting, will lead an indoor presentation exploring the rich potential of Vermont forests to provide non-timber forest products. Allaire will bring examples of locally-sourced baskets, as well as wools dyed with forest materials. We will discuss options for how non-timber products can become a part of your forest management plan. We will then head outdoors for a winter walk, focusing on the identification of local plants, mushrooms and lichens that can be used for food, craft, medicine, and more. Participants will take home a lichen dye recipe you can make yourself.

Wildlife Tracking
Date: Saturday, February 13, 2010
Time: 10 a.m. to noon
Meeting Place: Education Barn,
Green Mountain Audubon Center
Fee: Donations are greatly appreciated.

Learn to identify Vermont animal tracks and signs while enjoying a morning hike at the Green Mountain Audubon Center. Mounted specimens, skulls and other teaching tools will be examined to help learn the basics. Then we’ll put your new skills to the test outdoors as we search for evidence of Vermont’s elusive wildlife. Be prepared to follow the tracks wherever they lead us. Hiking will be moderate, both on and off trails. Dress to be outdoors. Snowshoes are recommended if the snow is deep!

Monthly Bird Monitoring Walks and Great Backyard Bird Count (Feb.)
Dates: Saturday, December 19, 2009
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010 *
Time: 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Meeting Place: Office Building, GMAC
Fee: Donations are appreciated

Join us as we monitor bird populations through the different habitats at the Green Mountain Audubon Center. The monthly walks gather long-term data on the presence of bird species, their abundance, and changes in populations. The information we gather will be entered into the Vermont e-bird database where we store data for our Important Bird Area monitoring efforts at the Green Mountain Audubon Center.

* In February GMAS will organize teams to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count.
Contact Green Mountain Audubon Society (GMAS) for more details: gmas@greenmountainaudubon.org

Family Programs

Family Full Moon Walk
Date: Saturday,
January 30, 2010
Time: 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Meeting Place: Education Barn, GMAC
Ages: Families with children ages 3 and up
Fee: Audubon members: $10 per adult/child pair, $4 for each additional child
Non-members: $12 per adult/child pair, $5 for each additional child

Who’s awake? Join us for an evening exploring the forest by the light of the full moon. We’ll start indoors with some lunar lore and a close-up look at Audubon’s awesome owl collection. Then we’ll bundle up and slip outside into the shadows, awakening our night-time senses. We’ll listen for owls, search for animal signs and feel the quiet of the woods around us. Howling at the moon is optional, but encouraged.

Family Craft Day
Date: Sunday, February 7, 2010
Time: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Meeting Place: Education Barn, Green Mountain Audubon Center
Ages: Families with children ages 3 and up
Fee: Audubon members: $12 per adult/child pair, $4 for each additional child
Non-members: $14 per adult/child pair, $5 for each additional child

Let’s get crafty! Bring your family and snuggle up by our wood stove as we create our favorite nature inspired crafts. Bring a box because you’ll get to take your crafts home to give as gifts or use for decorations. We’ll make simple snowflakes, complex critters and much more!

Vacation Day Programs

All Programs
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Meeting Place: Education Barn,
Green Mountain Audubon Center
Fee: $50/program
What to bring: snow pants, winter jacket or snowsuit, lined boots, warm socks, hat, mittens or gloves, scarf, change of dry clothes, lunch, water bottle, snack, and a smile!

Winter Survival Skills
Date: Monday, February 22, 2010
Ages: 10-12 years
Do you like to build forts and roast marshmallows over a campfire? Then this day is for you! We will break the ice with rope games and snow experiments. Then we’ll go outside and build a traditional quinzee shelter out of snow. We’ll end the day sitting around a cozy campfire with warm drinks and S’mores!

Winter Crafts
Date: Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Ages: 6-11 years
Join us for a day of craft-making fun! We’ll construct critter creations, refrigerator magnets, and even crafts that you can eat! Use them for gifts or decorations at home. We’ll make outside art in the snow and spend time inside warming up by the wood stove too! Be sure to bring a box to take your hand-made treasures home with you.

Maple Sugaring Day
Date: Friday, February 26, 2010
Ages: 6-12 years
Kick off the start of mud season with a fun-filled, active day that is all about making maple syrup! We’ll tap trees in the Audubon Center’s 500-tap sugarbush, and then collect the sap. See first-hand how an evaporator works and gather around a campfire to discover how people first turned maple sap into sugar. Don’t forget to bring your sweet tooth, since we’ll wrap up this busy day with a syrup taste test!

Preschool Programs
Ages: 3-5 with adult companion
Fee: Audubon members: $8 per adult/child pair, $4 for each additional child
Non-members: $10 per adult/child pair, $4 for each additional child

December: Predator Prowl
Dates: Tuesday, December 8 and
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Time: 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Meeting Place: Education Barn, GMAC

Let’s go hunting! Can you crunch with your canines, catch with your talons, and munch with your mandibles? If so, you might be a predator. Feel the hunger drive you to practice pursuing, stalking, pouncing, and fox walking. We’ll forage for fur, sniff for a snack, and hone our hunting skills. So growl, let out a howl, and get ready to prowl!

January: Snug in the Snow
Dates: Thursday, January 28, 2010
Time: 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Meeting Place: Education Barn, GMAC

Join us as we explore snow: nature’s blanket! Feel what it’s like to snuggle under the snow like meadow voles and experience the thrill of sliding like river otters. We’ll transform into some of Vermont’s most active winter animals as we learn more about how snow helps critters hide, keep warm, and play!

February: Who’s Hooting?
Dates: Thursday, February 18, 2010
Time: 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Meeting Place: Education Barn, GMAC

Owls, of course! Today, we’ll swoop into the world of the most mysterious flying mousetraps and find out why owls are such silent and successful predators. We’ll search for nests, look for clues, and discover what’s inside an owl pellet. We will examine real owl specimens and learn how to hoot back to the different owls you may hear in the night.