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. Beginners welcome! Materials not included. 

The series will no longer begin on 4/7/20. All SVT indoor programming is postponed. SVT will notify registrants to let you know when we are able to resume classes. 

Program Full: Registration Closed. 

This meeting is postponed. We are looking at perhaps holding the orientation session virtually at a later date. If you are interested in volunteering with SVT, please register and we will let you know when we have the alternate plan. 

Curious about volunteering for SVT? Have you recently signed up as a volunteer? Attend our Spring Volunteer Orientation to learn about SVT's work and the many ways volunteers contribute to our success. Designed for both new and potential SVT volunteers. 

Volunteer opportunities include:

Property monitoring
Trail maintenance
Invasives control
Community events
Office support

The general orientation will be followed by a Bark Ranger Orientation, 7:30 pm – 8:00 pm, for those interested in helping us engage dog walkers along the trails.

Greg Dysart, long time SVT member and avid naturalist will present an introduction to our Springtime Warblers of Massachusetts. Thirty species will be discussed and presented with slides and many of Greg's own photographs. Some of the warblers are rare, yet others are quite common. Enjoy the beauty of these strikingly colored birds and learn how to attempt to see them as they arrive in full breeding plumage in May. 

Postponed. Please register if you are interested in attending at a future date. 

Join us as we work to make a section of our trails more sustainable and user friendly at Baiting Brook/Welch Reservation in northwest Framingham. We will be closing off a steep section of trail and replacing it with a more gentle cross-slope route between Baiting Brook and the Pipeline Trail. We will be trimming light vegetation, raking the trail surface to define the new path, and naturalizing the old route.

Postponed. Please register if you are interested in attending at a future date. 

Come enjoy learning about stewardship along the federally-designated Wild & Scenic River. Volunteers will have the opportunity to help clear trails and manually remove invasive shrubs.  Other management tasks may be part of the mix. Co-sponsored by the Wayland Conservation Department. 

Postponed. Please register if you are interested in attending at a future date. 

SVT has been working with the Conservation Commissions in Berlin and Bolton to make a new trail link between Lancaster Road in Berlin to Wattaquadock Pond and the Fyfeshire Conservation Area in Bolton. Join us as we finish creating this new link on the newly conserved Wendler property. We will be trimming light vegetation and raking the trail surface to define the new path.

Postponed. Please register if you are interested in attending at a future date.  

Celebrate Earth Day 2020 with a mindful walk in the woods!

Explore the beautiful landscape of Upper Mill Brook with Frances Pollitt, who has been enjoying this land since she was a girl. Caregivers and children will participate in a scavenger hunt of the natural world, encouraging closer observation. All ages welcome! Children under 18 are free.

Cancelled. 

Celebrate Earth Day 2020 with a unique wildlife outing! 

SVT maintains a meadow at Greenways Conservation Area in Wayland that provides the perfect habitat for the American woodcock. Enjoy the sunset while listening for these unusual birds and watching the incredible flight pattern of the males' springtime courtship ritual. 

Cancelled.

In celebration of Earth Day 2020, we invite you to come learn about the importance of “dark skies.”

Destin Heilman explains how light pollution affects both people and wildlife, and how you can be part of the solution. Then, we venture outdoors and look into the night sky through telescopes. Members of SOLF qualify for member rate. 

Co-sponsored by Southborough Open Land Foundation (SOLF) Program fee waived for members of SOLF (select "yes" for member when registering and note SOLF in Comments)

Postponed. Please register if you are interested in attending at a future date. 

Join us for a morning spring bird walk through woodlands and meadows. This area will be teeming with birds returning from their winter migration. New birders welcome! 

Postponed. Please register if you are interested in attending at a future date. 

Help us to keep bittersweet at bay. We will be manually pulling and removing Oriental bittersweet along the forest border to keep it from spreading into the forest interior.

Postponed. Please register if you are interested in attending at a future date. 

SVT's Cowassock Woods in Framingham is surrounded by the larger Ashland Town Forest. Together they provide over 600 acres of habitat and recreational trails. The first quarter-mile section of trail is badly overgrown with invasive plants including garlic mustard and burning bush, and is littered with the remains of fallen trees. There is poison ivy in places so long sleeves and gloves are recommended. 

Postponed. Please register if you are interested in attending at a future date. 

Get tick safety tips from Dan Wolff, inventor of the TickEase device for removing ticks from humans and pets. Inspired by his love of the outdoors—and his dogs—Dan researched ticks, tick removal, and tick-borne illnesses to become a “tick expert.” TickEase devices will be available for purchase. 

We are exploring options for offering this program virtually. Please register if you are interested in the information. 

Get outdoors as a family to enjoy this child-fun-focused garbage pickup event!

We will have face painting and relay races, while we go as a group and clean up the trail. Sophie Glasser is an elementary teacher, clown, singer, and activist. Her husband Rich Kramer is a former pre-school teacher and current activist, as well as a handyman keeping objects out of landfills. Please join us for some good clean(ing) fun.

Cancelled. 

Join us for an intentional walk along the trails with Frances Pollitt. Moments of silence and moments of discussion about discoveries will punctuate the walk. Anticipate delight and learning. Bring a favorite writing to share about the natural world. All ages welcome! Children under 18, free. 

Postponed. Please register if you are interested in attending this program at a future date. 

Can you tell trees apart—without the leaves?  Local experts will show you how to identify common trees from around the area by observing differences in bark and buds. Also, learn how the actions of early settlers shaped our forests. 

Postponed. Please register if you are interested in attending this program at a future date. 

Experience the magic of the forest at night! Venture out before dusk and walk under the Full Flower Moon. Learn about the habitats at Memorial Forest, pitch-pine scrub oak barrens restoration, search for early blooming wildflowers and listen for wildlife sounds at dusk and under the moonlight.

Program Full: Please register to be added to the wait list. 

Enjoy a rare opportunity to visit one of the most scenic areas in Sudbury, which is forever protected thanks to a conservation restriction. You will have the opportunity to view historic buildings, farm fields, stone walls, and Pantry Brook.

Co-sponsored by the Sudbury Conservation Commission

Program Full: Please register to be added to the wait list. 

Spring is a special time in New England when wildflowers grace our woods with delicate and ephemeral splashes of color and beauty. Join botanist Ted Elliman, author of Wildflowers of New England, for a walk along the trails and get to know spring wild flowers and their habitats. 

Program Full: Please register to be added to the wait list. 

Join avid birder and SVT Board President Andy Magee for an early morning walk to look and listen for birds when they are most active. The newly protected Smith Conservation Land offers many gorgeous views as well as great habitat for wildlife. New birders welcome! 

Learn to identify the most common trees in the eastern forest by characteristics such as leaf shape and bark. 

Co-sponsored by Bedford Arbor Resource Committee (BARC)

Join Boxborough Conservation Trust President Rita Grossman for an early morning walk to look and listen for birds when they are most active.  Horse Meadows Knoll offers fabulous habitat, from wetland and reservoir to woodland forest. New birders welcome! 

Co-sponsored by Boxborough Conservation Trust (BCT) Program fee waived for members of BCT (select "yes" for member when registering and note BCT in Comments)

The Golas Farm is a 109-acre working farm in Boylston with chickens, ducks, beef, cattle, and crops grown to feed the animals. In addition to its value as farmland, this property offers different habitat types including pasture, early successional meadows, mature forest, and both open and wooded wetlands. Walk the property with SVT's Ashley Davies who helped to faciltate its conservation. 

This six-week workshop introduces materials and explores how to lay a wash, mix colors, create textures and highlights, build glazes, and design a palette. Beginners welcome! Materials not included. 

Space is limited, early registration recommended. 

Dr. Jon Way, founder of Eastern Coyote/Coywolf Research, returns to SVT to share his expertise eastern coyotes in Massachusetts. This photo and video presentation will cover coyote ecology and behavior, and hybridization with western coyote and wolves. Join us in the barn at Wolbach Farm to learn about Dr. Way's fascinating experience studying coyotes. 

Many call it a hidden gem in Acton! Walk on the trails and paths of this conserved land, including both cultivated gardens and shady woodlands. Co-sponsored by Town of Acton Natural Resources/Conservation Department.

Program Full: Please register to be added to the wait list.