Stearns Farm, located on SVT's Baiting Brook-Welch Reservation, is surrounded by more than 100 acres of forest land owned by SVT and is part of a complex of protected lands providing wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities. Join Dan Stimson, SVT Assistant Director of Stewardship, for a of tour the trails of the adjacent conservation land, including Callahan State Park, highlighting the connections along Baiting Brook and the Bay Circuit Trail. Learn about local wildlife, plant communities, and the other hiking opportunities in this corner of Framingham and beyond.

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 SVT Land Steward Kristin O'Brien and SVT Director of Land Protection Christa Collins to explore Bedford's Concord Road complex of conservation lands. This date was chosen to enjoy the sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia) blooming along the 1.6 mile loop, making for both a fragrant and beautiful walk!

Co-sponsored by the Bedford Trails Committee

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. 

At capacity: Registration Closed. 

Rescheduled from 7/24

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 tips. 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.

Learn techniques to make your paintings come alive! This six-week workshop introduces you to materials, and explores how to lay a wash, mix colors, create textures and highlights, build glazes and design a palette. Materials not included. 

Join Debbie Costine of the Southborough Open Land Foundation (SOLF) for a tour of the outdoor art exhibit, Art on the Trails: Marking Territory, installed along the trails at Beals Preserve. This is walk along wooded trails. The total walk is about 1 1/2 miles and we will be walking for about 1 hour. This temporary art exhibit will remain on the trails until September 22 and is open to the public dawn to dusk.

No dogs, please. 

Image from Art on the Trails 2017

Paddle to one of the most historic locations along the Sudbury River. Fairhaven Bay has been written about and visited by Henry David Thoreau. Similar to Walden Pond, Fairhaven Bay is a deep glacial kettle hole; however Fairhaven Bay is part of the Sudbury River.  Experienced paddlers only; you must provide your own boat, paddles and PFD.

SVT is offering this opportunity exclusively to SVT members. Not a member, join SVT now.

Enjoy yoga and meditation practices close to nature at Wolbach Farm. Begin the day with an all-level yoga class in our barn, open to the fresh breezes from the meadow. Experience a sound bath created by singing bowls. Enjoy a guided mindfulness walk along the trail. Close with a restorative session of poses with meditation. Healthy lunch will be provided (outdoors, weather permitting.)

Join us to celebrate conservation, review highlights from the past year, and present our annual rewards to outstanding local conservationists. 

We will gather in the beautifully renovated historic Village Hall in Framingham and welcome keynote speaker, Mayor Yvonne Spicer of Framingham.

Please RSVP as space is limited.

Refreshments generously donated by Whole Food Markets of Framingham and Sudbury. Thank you to business sponsor, Capital Group.

Join farmer Ember Fleming to tour the herb garden at Stearns Farm and learn about various herbs you can dry to use in the winter months or to make into your very own tea blends. Gather herbs and learn to dry and store them. Discuss what herbs to include in your tea based on personal preference and medicinal properties. Each participant will leave with fresh herbs to dry on their own as well as a tea blend that you will mix with previously dried herbs from the farm.  

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.

Learn to identify the most common trees in the eastern forest by characteristics such as leaf shape and bark. Led by Christa Collins, SVT Director of Land Protection, and Melinda Chamberlain, Bedford Arbor Resource Committee. Co-sponsored by BARC

Join us for a special chance to observe the fall hawk migration from the top of Mainstone Farm in Wayland. We'll have a full view of the sky and hope to see some of the thousands of hawks working their way south through our area. Bring your binoculars. 

Monarch butterflies are popular seasonal visitors with a fascinating story. Join us to see images of 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. Presented by Dan Stimson, SVT Assistant Director of Stewardship. 

Sudbury has over 4,000 acres of protected open space and the scenic Sudbury River with wetlands, forests and wildlife. These include national wildlife refuges, state lands, town conservation lands and Sudbury Valley Trustees’ properties. This 4-week indoor course will focus on the value of these areas and opportunities to enjoy nature in Sudbury; highlight locations for hiking, walking, birdwatching, wildflowers, and canoeing. You will get a flavor of vistas, plants and wildlife, orientation to basic rules of use, family and dog friendly locations, maps and handouts with easy to reference resource lists. 

Register at https://www.lsrhs.net/sites/adulted/2019/06/enjoying-sudburys-open-spaces/

Neela de Zoysa is a Sudbury resident with 35 years of experience in natural resource conservation. She is a Core Instructor for the Native Plant Trust (former New England Wildflower Society) and program leader for Sudbury Valley Trustees. Neela is a past Board member and Chair of Outreach for the Friends of the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge and former Research Associate of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.

The Mount Pisgah Conservation Area sits in parts of Berlin and Northborough, that are wild, rural, and quiet. Jill Moonheron, SVT volunteer and trail guide contributor, will lead this trail walk to the recently conserved Warren S. Oberg overlook (formerly the North View) participants from which the Boston skyline may be visible on a clear day. 

The recently protected 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.

Morning guided hikes to celebrate the new Boroughs Loop Trail connecting the trail networks of Marlborough, Southborough, Westborough, and Northborough to create a 33-mile regional trail. For the latest details on this kickoff celebration, visit www.svtweb.org/BLT.

No details or registration currently available. We will update this page as more information is set. 

Explore Oak Hill with Bill Brown of the Littleton Conservation Trust (LCT). See the geologically significant Tophet Chasm where glacial Lake Nashua drained and cut a deep chasm, visit the highest point (508’) in Littleton, and enjoy the vista at Lookout Rock. The walk is 2.5 miles and ascends 400’. Co-sponsored by LCT

Learn techniques to make your paintings come alive! This six-week workshop introduces you to materials, and explores how to lay a wash, mix colors, create textures and highlights, build glazes and design a palette. Materials not included. 

Join Bruce Porter, SVT Volunteer, Physicist, and Science Olympiad Coach for the Glaciers Competition, at SVT’s Gray Reservation and the Town of Sudbury Haynes Meadow Conservation Land. Learn about the geophysical events that shaped this land and see where the passage of glaciers left marks on this unique SVT property.

Join Pam Frederick, Certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide, on this restful and restorative experience, “bathing” in the atmosphere of the forest. Pam will facilitate connections between participants and the landscape. Research shows decreased stress and increased cognitive functioning and immunity from being mindful in nature. The walk concludes with a wild-crafted tea ceremony and snacks.

Space is limited.

The Boroughs Loop Trail (BLT) is a new trail network connecting the hiking paths of Marlborough,Northborough, Southborough and Westborough, encouraging the exploration, enjoyment, and protection of the Boroughs’ natural resources. The trail officially opens on October 5, and this walk, co-sponsored by the Sudbury Valley Trustees, is one of several introductory walks being held on various sections throughout October. This walk will highlight the section of the BLT which passes through Westborough, starting at SVT’s Sawink Farm property.

Co-sponsored by Westborough Community Land Trust

Rob St. Germain, a volunteer steward for both SVT and the Ashland Town Forest Committee, leads a fascinating walk through these neighboring properties. Native Americans were known to live here, as were families escpaing the Salem Witch Trials. You will also learn about current forest management strategies for this landscape.

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. Presented by Dan Stimson, SVT Assistant Director of Stewardship. Co-sponsored by the Westborough Conservation Land Trust

Explore the Yapp property and beyond to identify the various bedrock exposures and boulders. Walk through the northeast-southwest elongated hills of the Nashoba Woodlands and ponder theories of what formed them. Discover the lay of the land from the perspective of the rock cycle, plate tectonics and glaciation. 

Gossamer wings are tiny, iridescent butterflies. There are 27 species of this group in Massachusetts, some are rare, though others may be seen with relative ease. Unising his beautiful, detailed photos of wild and free butterflies, Greg Dysart of the Massachusetts Butterfly Club will present an introduction to these creates and will discuss how to find them.

Bronze copper, photographed by Greg Dysart

The tradition continues – “opt-outside” with SVT on Black Friday! Join SVT Executive Director Lisa Vernegaard for a fast-paced walk the Friday after Thanksgiving. This is a special opportunity to connect with nature during the season of gratitude.

Say thank you with a donation of your choice to SVT’s Giving Tuesday campaign at www.svtweb.org/givingtuesday in November.

View the winter solstice sunrise through the stone structures at Half Moon Meadow Brook, and hear the legends of their origins from leader George Krusen. The sunlight bores through the stones for a magnificent viewing.