Monarch butterflies are popular seasonal visitors with a fascinating story. Join us to see their incredible transformation from egg to butterfly, and learn how this prepares them to undertake the journey to their winter home in Mexico. Learn about the challenges they are facing, how conservation efforts are attempting to strengthen their numbers, and how you can make a difference in your own backyard.

Have you always been curious about what is going on in vernal pools? Ever wondered about the different types of salamanders? Did you rummage through leaf litter as kid marveling at the wondrous variety of organisms?

Join us on our 3rd and final Discovery Day and learn how to identify salamanders, aquatic, and terrestrial invertebrates. We may also have some special guest turtles! Each Discovery Day is designed to help you build the skills to identify species and more deeply interact with the natural world. Bring shoes that can get wet, hand lens or binoculars if you have them, and a healthy sense of curiosity.

All participants will be invited to take part in our BioBlitz on June 22.

Walk the wooded trail out to view the heronry. This time of year, great blue heron fledglings can often be seen in the nests! Bring along binoculars for best viewing. Led by birder and nature videographer Norman Levey. 

Program Full - please register to be added to the waitlist. 

Launch from Maynard’s Icehouse Landing and then meander through Stow along the Assabet Wildlife Refuge on one side and the Stow Town Forest on the other. Navigate a series of oxbows where the tree swallows should be plentiful! Experienced paddlers only. Bring your own boat and PFD. Led by Susan Crane and Allan Fierce. 

Want to learn more about your "wild" neighbors? Join Sudbury Valley Trustees' Executive Director Lisa Vernegaard at Jack's Abby in Framingham for an evening of fun facts and trivia about the amazing wildlife found right here in our region, highlighted by stunning photography.The full menu of Jack's Abby food and drinks will be available for purchase.

SVT Members: Bring a friend who is not a member (yet!) Our members are our greatest ambassadors. 

The conservation of Great Oak Farm in Berlin preserved iconic scenery, but the family also wanted  to ensure that the public could enjoy it by foot as well. The trails and parking area are now complete, and SVT and the Berlin Conservation Commission invite you to come out and walk the trail with us. Co-sponsored by Berlin Conservation Commission. 

Everyone is talking about climate change. Sara Amish will explain what climate change is, how it is expected to impact the Northeast, and what you can do to help it. 

Join Southborough artist Catherine Weber for a tour of the outdoor art exhibit, Art on the Trails: Marking Territory, installed along the trails at Beals Preserve. This is an easy to moderately challenging walk along wooded trails. The total walk is about 1 1/2 miles and we will be walking for about 1 hour.

Meeting instructions and parking location will be sent to those registered a few days prior to the walk. 

This temporary art exhibit will remain on the trails June 13 - September 22 and is open to the public dawn to dusk. 

Prepare for BioBlitz by learning how to document species on one of our Discovery Days

BioBlitz Discovery Day: Plants and Pollinators on Saturday, May 18

BioBlitz Discovery Day: Herps and Aquatics on Saturday, June 1

If you participated in the Discovery Days or are an experienced naturalist, you are invited to voluneer in a BioBlitz in Boxborough, Harvard, and Littleton. At this intersection lies a place of ecological importance called the High Ridge. We need your help to document wildlife species in the area. Read more about the BioBlitz.

Volunteers will check in between 7 am and 10 am and then independently visit designated sites along the ridge to document using iNaturalist or paper. A celebratory lunch will be provided at noon. 

As the date approaches, we'll will email more information to those who register. We are still finalizing the list of participating properties and the parking details.

Annual watercolor workshop with demonstration and personal instruction. Get inspired from nature by painting outdoors, while learning to capture the illusion of light and depth in your landscape painting. There will be a demonstration of helpful techniques to discover basic shapes and forms in nature. If rain, will be held indoors with a gorgeous view of the Sudbury River. Register receive a list of suggested materials. Taught by artist Sheila Noah.

Join SVT Leaders, Dave Witherbee and Jim Lagerbom, for a paddle up the scenic and winding Assabet River. Then, paddle to the Old North Bridge to join the solstice celebrations! Picnic and return to the launch with an illuminated flotilla after dark. Bring your own boat and PFD. Plus, bring a lantern. If you would like to create your own candle lantern, instructions are here.

Complete schedule of Riverfest 2019 activities. 

The sounds of the outdoors are as enchanting as the sights. Join us to learn how to use professional recording equipment to capture birdsong, insect sounds, and other sonic wonders. You’ll get hands-on experience with recorders and microphones, plus a demonstration of how to upload your recordings. Debbie Blicher is senior producer of the weekly live radio show and podcast, Ray Brown’s Talkin’ Birds. Limited to 6 participants. Co-sponsored by Stearns Farm CSA. 

Space is limited; registration required. Stearns Farm members, choose "YES" for "I am an SVT Member" and include "Stearns Farm" in the comments to receive member rate.

Stearns Farm CSA  s a sustainable all natural farm providing locally grown food in Framingham. Offering both summer and winter shares. Stearns Farm is located on conservation land donated to Sudbury Valley Trustees in 1975.

Join us for a butterfly foray at Greenways where SVT has spent the last five years improving field habitat and adding native pollinator plants.  We will also have the opportunity to visit shrubland and forest habitat along a stretch of federally-designated Wild & Scenic Sudbury River. 

SVT is proud to host Drumlin Farm's (Mass Audubon) Wolbach Wonders program series in our barn and along the trail. Sessions are 10:00 am - 11:30 on select Wednesday mornings this summer. 

Gather for story time and a beautiful view at Wolbach Farm in Sudbury. Listen in as a Drumlin Farm Teacher Naturalist reads one of our favorite children’s books, meet an animal from the story, and venture outside for a nature walk. Join us for one, some, or all sessions.

To receive the member rate, SVT members are asked to call Drumlin Farm at 781-259-2220 to register. 

Rock-a-Bye Baby on July 10

Little Mouse on July 17

Turtle Time on July 24

Go, Bunny, Go! on July 31

Bug Hunt on August 7

Farm Friends on August 14

Join SVT and the Wayland Conservation Commission for a morning bird walk along the fields and trails of Wayland's Cow Common Conservation Area. With its large fields adjacent to Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, this beautiful spot is host to nesting bobolinks. This charismatic little bird's population has been declining as areas like this have been disappearing. We'll discuss conservation and management efforts to protect these birds and also look for other species that call Cow Common home

Join us for a butterfly foray at Greenways where SVT has spent the last five years improving field habitat and adding native pollinator plants.  We will also have the opportunity to visit shrubland and forest habitat along a stretch of federally-designated Wild & Scenic Sudbury River. 

Horse Meadows Knoll has a fascinating variety of habitats for all sorts of wildlife. SVT Land Steward Kristin O’Brien will explain the differences in habitat types -wetlands, upland forest, vernal pools, and rocky outcrops – and highlight the plants and animals that call them home.  

SVT members are invited to join us on the lawn at Wolbach (or in the barn if needed) for scoops of delicious local ice cream and sorbet with all the fixings! Our annual ice cream social is a nice opportunity for members to socialize and enjoy the summer landscape – see our new pollinator meadow in full bloom! All ages welcome (no dogs, please).

Bring a Friend! Members are welcome to bring along non-members to introduce them to SVT. You are our greatest ambassadors! 

RSVP by July 15, so we can plan for the crowd and order enough ice cream.

The Beecology Project https://beecology.wpi.edu/website/home#page-title invites you to observe bumblebees and submit photos and videos to researchers. Learn about this project, the importance of native bees, and pollinator plantings that support thriving bee populations. Tour our new pollinator meadow at Wolbach and learn how “bee hotels” help our native bees. 

Tour the geologic setting of the property from the perspective of plate tectonics and glaciation.  Led by geology enthusiast Bill Vales, participants will look at bedrock exposures and learn about the different types of rock and how they fit into the general plate tectonics setting of the area. See the impact of glaciation through various features including Black Pond, vernal pools, an esker and numerous glacial erratics, as well as signs of lime mining. 

Join foraging expert Rachel Goclawski on a foraging walk to collect wild plants and learn about how to identify, prepare and preserve them. Learn foraging safety, sustainable foraging, nutritional and medicinal value, and cooking and preservation tip. We emphasize sustainable foraging- collecting highly invasive and renewable plants. You will touch, smell, taste, and collect wild plants.  Co-sponsored by Stearns Farm CSA. 

Space is limited; registration required. Stearns Farm members, choose "YES" for "I am an SVT Member" and include "Stearns Farm" in the comments to receive member rate.

Stearns Farm CSA  s a sustainable all natural farm providing locally grown food in Framingham. Offering both summer and winter shares. Stearns Farm is located on conservation land donated to Sudbury Valley Trustees in 1975.

David Babick, of the ID committee of the Boston Mycological Club, leads an introduction to common edible mushrooms. Learn how to identify safe mushrooms and how to sustainably harvest them. All ages welcome! 

Join Dan Stimson, Assistant Director of Stewardship, for a walk along the 1.5 miles of trails at Summer Star Wildlife Sanctuary. Dan helped to design the trails at Summer Star when it was founded in 2014. Learn about the habitats found at the Sanctuary, as well as the wildlife that call it home. Co-sponsored by Summer Star Wildlife Sanctuary. 

Walk the farm with the farmers and members of the Lam family, who own and farm the land, to learn about local farming practices and how they produce beautiful flowers for their bouquets. The walk will end with a short nature walk through the Whitney Conservation area where SVT's Land Steward, Kristin O'Brien, will explain how both the farm and the woods are protected.

Walk the property and trails at Wolbach Farm with Christa Collins, SVT Director of Land Protection. Christa will show you both our planted gardens and the natural woodlands that span our 55-acre conservation area. Bring a lunch if you want to stay and enjoy it al fresco at our picnic tables. 

Explore the stunning rock formations and coldwater streams of Forty Caves with SVT Trail Guide contributor, Jill Moonheron. 

Walk the conservation land donated by Margaret Pearmain Welch, which inspired land conservation in northwest Framingham. Starting at Stearns Farm, Dan Stimson,SVT Assistant Director of Stewardship, will highlight the conservation land in the area, and its important role as both farmland and wildlife habitat. Co-sponsored by Stearns Farm CSA. 

Space is limited; registration required. Stearns Farm members, choose "YES" for "I am an SVT Member" and include "Stearns Farm" in the comments to receive member rate.

Stearns Farm CSA  s a sustainable all natural farm providing locally grown food in Framingham. Offering both summer and winter shares. Stearns Farm is located on conservation land donated to Sudbury Valley Trustees in 1975.

The Skylight Astronomical Society of Stow returns to share their technology and knowledge of the night sky. Peer through a variety of telescopes set up in the field. We have seen the rings of Saturn, the red glow of Mars, and distant galaxies! Light refreshments served in the barn. In case of clouds, or rain, there will be an astronomy presentation in the barn.