Join Weed Warrior volunteers to pull garlic mustard at Cowassock Woods. Masks required. Gloves, hat, sunscreen, water, and appropriate footwear recommended. 

Register Now through Nature Groupie

Smith Conservation Land in Littleton and Harvard boasts expansive views of both Beaver Brook Marsh and Black Pond Ravine. Sudbury Valley Trustees is hosting a work day to relocate a seasonally wet trail. We will be removing brambles from the new route, and cutting in a path that will be drier and friendlier for hikers during wet periods. We will provide tools needed. Bring water and a snack. Please wear closed-toe footwear for outdoor work, work gloves, long pants and sleeves. Youth volunteers over the age of 15 are welcome to join.

Full - Registration closed.

SVT's Weed Warriors are volunteers trained to identify and manage invasive plants. Gowings Swamp, named by Thoreau, has a bog and and vernal pool with rare plant species. Help us protect these communities by learning how to identify and pull buckthorn, bittersweet and other invasive plants. COVID protocols will be followed. Masks are required. Hat, gloves, sunscreen, water, and appropriate footwear. Youth aged 11 and older are welcome with a supervising adult.

Register Now through Nature Groupie

Learn more about the Weed Warrior program of the Suasco-Cisma and Sudbury Valley Trustees 

Join Dan Stimson, Assistant Director of Stewardship, on a tour of this beautiful property where trails narrow to squeeze between rock outcroppings and glacial erratics punctuate the woodlands. North Brook rattles and gurgles beside the trail as it slips under a flat slab of rock. Space is limited and masks required. 

SVT Members Only (Not a member, join SVT.)  - Full - please register to be added to the wait list. 

Enjoy a walk through one of SVT's newest reservations while learning about SVT's effort to restore wildlife habitat. Laura Mattei, Director of Stewardship, will discuss the management challenges of plantation forests and invasive species as well as highlight the joys of expansive marshes, vernal pools, cool rock formations, dark forest and a gorgeous ravine and wetland corridor. Space is limited and masks required. 

SVT Members Only (Not a member, join SVT.)

Cowassock Woods and Ashland Town Forest are composed of a mosaic of mixed hardwood forest types, wetlands, vernal pools, and stream corridors. As you walk the trail, Matt Morris, an SVT AmeriCorps Member, will teach you how to judge the health of a forest, using indicators such as forest layers, plant density, and invasive species. Space is limited and masks required. 

SVT Members Only (Not a member, join SVT.)

Kristin O'Brien, Land Steward, leads this walk through these popular properties in the heart of Wayland. Hamlen Woods encompasses upland forest and an old reservoir with beaver activity. The adjacent Mainstone Farm CR is a sweeping 218-acre landscape that includes agricultural fields and woodland. Space is limited and masks required. 

Program Full - Please register to be added to the waitlist

SVT Members Only (Not a member, join SVT.)

Here's your chance to explore the site of a current land protection project. Christa Collins, Director of Land Protection, will describe the features of this delightful property that abuts Callahan State Park and includes a portion of the popular Beebe Pond Loop Trail. She'll also describe the long-term effort to protect this land. Register. Space is limited and masks required. 

Note: This program has been relocated to the O'Donnell Property, a current project in nearby Marlborough. Chickatawbut Woods trail access is currently flooded due to some new beaver activity. 

Program Full - Please register to join wait list. 

SVT Members Only (Not a member, join SVT.)

Help us to remove invasive glossy buckthorn from a unique pitch pine-scrub oak barrens habitat in Sudbury. Learn about this globally-rare fire-dependent natural community and help us to keep the buckthorn at bay. We will be hand-pulling the plants. We will provide on-site training in identification and pulling method. COVID protocols will be followed. Please bring wear closed-toed shoes. Bring water, snacks and your mask. Garden gloves if you own them. Children 11 years and older are welcome with an adult.

Register Now through Nature Groupie

Help SVT and the Westborough Conservation Commission remove the invasive garlic mustard on conservation land. Volunteers will be instructed on how to identify, pull, and dispose of invasive plant materials. If interested, volunteers may also learn about identifying and removing other types of invasive plants.

Wear long pants, long sleeves, and outdoor footwear. Bring water and snacks if needed. Work gloves will be provided by hosts if volunteers cannot bring their own. Masks required. Youth volunteers (under 18) welcome if accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Register Now through Nature Groupie  Limit of 10 volunteers.

Spend an evening with wildlife camera specialist Sally Naser, of CR Wildlife Cams. Learn how trail cameras work and tips on where to set them up to reveal the secret lives of our wildlife neighbors. See beautiful & compelling photos and videos of wildlife in western & central Massachusetts and hear stories from the field along with tips on how you can get started in your own backyard.

Join Neela de Zoysa for five socially distanced, outdoor guided walks. While wearing a face mask, enjoy vistas from Tippling Rock and Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, special “Desert” habitat in Memorial Forest, Hop Brook Conservation area, the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge and more. These include town-owned conservation lands, Sudbury Valley Trustees’ properties and US Fish and Wildlife managed Refuges. Forests, fields, ponds and streams, native plants and animals are a few of the highlights.  

Options for morning, 10:00 - 11:30 am or afternoon, 3:30 - 5:00 pm walks Registration through L-S Adult Ed (program fee benefits the L-S Adult Ed program)

Co-Sponsored by Sudbury Conservation Commission and the Friends of the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge.  Neela de Zoysa is botanist, Sudbury resident, and a long-time instructor for the Native Plant Trust.

Artist and “curious naturalist,” Deborah Costine takes you along to look closely at the beauty of the forest. Long slow walks in the woods, looking at everything and taking pictures, is what grounds her. In this presentation you will "walk" along with Debbie, settling into the rhythm of the forest while looking at some of her favorite photos.

Deborah Costine is a long-time SVT member and Vice President of the Southborough Open Land Foundation (SOLF).

Elke Jahns-Harms returns to share her fabulous photos and stories of monarchs. Elke and her husband Garth have gotten to know these magical creatures well while raising and releasing over a hundred butterflies. What makes these butterflies so special? How can we help them? In this zoom webinar, Elke will discuss facts and myths about monarchs and share stories and photos from their experiences.

Elke Jahns-Harms teaches Music and Social Change at the New England Conservatory and International Development Aid at The Fletcher School. She and her husband began raising monarch butterflies a few years ago and have coached friends and neighbors to raise them as well.  They continue to be moved and amazed at how people react to these exquisite creatures. Elke holds a PhD in International Relations, a Master’s in Music, a Master of Public Affairs, and a B.A. in Geology and Environmental Science.  

Join Neela de Zoysa for a series of five socially distanced, outdoor guided walks this summer. While wearing a face mask, enjoy vistas and explore Frost Farm Conservation area, Gray Reservation & Haynes Meadow,  Piper Farm, south side of Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge and the Wayside Inn property. These include town-owned conservation lands, Sudbury Valley Trustees’ properties, Wayside Inn and US Fish and Wildlife Service managed Refuges. Forests, fields, ponds and streams, native plants and animals are a few of the highlights. 

Options for morning, 10:00 - 11:30 am or afternoon, 3:30 - 5:00 pm walks Registration through L-S Adult Ed (program fee benefits the L-S Adult Ed program)

Co-Sponsored by Sudbury Conservation Commission and the Friends of the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge.  Neela de Zoysa is botanist, Sudbury resident, and a long-time instructor for the Native Plant Trust.

View a recording of the online presentation SVT and MLT held on March 24 about the effort to protect the Kelly Property in Upton. 

In addition to an overview of the project and the importance of protecting this puzzle piece of the popular Peppercorn Hill Conservation Area, guest speaker Ted Elliman described the local plant communities and explained why they are important to protect. Ted is a noted New England botanist, author of Wildflowers of New England, and a co-author of Grasses, Sedges, Rushes: An Identification Guide.

Register now and you will immediately receive an email containing a link to view the program recording.

NestWatch is a nationwide nest-monitoring program designed to track status and trends in the reproductive biology of birds. Participating in NestWatch is easy and anyone can do it.

To get started with NestWatch, SVT recommends this free on-demand Bird Academy webinar by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Academy. Another helpful resource for identifying birds and nests is iNaturalist, a free app. 

Join Andy Magee, SVT Board Member and avid birder and bird walk leader, for a fascinating introduction to the owls that live in our region. There are seven species of owls that breed in Massachusetts and two others that visit seasonally or on rare occasion. Learn about their identifying characteristics and how to improve your chances of actually seeing an owl. Owls are incredibly sophisticated predators, and participants will learn more details on their diets with an on-line dissection of an owl pellet - the wad of fur and bones that owls regurgitate after a successful hunt. 

Please register to watch this replay and you will immediately receive an email containing the link to the recording. 

Dan Stimson, SVT Assistant Director of Stewardship, offers a fascinating look at the life history of beavers and how their role in shaping their own habitat is important to many local wildlife species. In this zoom webinar, you will learn about beavers’ work on local conservation land, how the land has changed, and how conflicts that arise from those changes can be addressed.

Please register to watch this replay and you will immediately receive an email containing the link to the recording. 

Join botanist and ecologist Neela de Zoysa for this introduction to native climbing plants - lianas and vines. Learn about their special features, rare species and the disproportionate impact of climate change on this important group of plants. Neela began as a tropical rainforest ecologist and is a core instructor for Native Plant Trust for over a decade. She authored a recent article in the Native Plant News titled "Onward, Upward and Overlooked: New England's Native Climbers."

Please register to watch this replay and you will immediately receive an email containing the link to the recording. 

Doug Tallamy is the author of Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants. In this webinar, Tallamy will focus on the expense of fighting introduced plant invasions, and he will discuss how some people question the wisdom of battling ornamental invasives--after all, they argue, if an introduced plant helps a particular butterfly, bird, or bee, why not embrace it? Using data from several studies, Tallamy answers this and related questions, showing that we can determine the overall impact of introduced plants on our ecosystems only by comparing what is gained from their use with what is lost when they replace native plant communities. Sponsored by the CISMA (Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area) Steering Committee. Learn more about CISMA's work. 

Please register to watch this replay and you will immediately receive an email containing the link to the recording. 

SVT member and avid nature photographer Chris Errington will share his tips and techniques for capturing photos of wildlife in your backyard or on the trails. Chris even has success taking photos right from his car! In this Zoom webinar, Chris shares many of his stunning photographs and explain the techniques used to achieve the results. 

Please register to watch this replay and you will immediately receive an email containing the link to the recording. 

In this webinar recording, you will learn more about attracting pollinators to your garden. Designed and managed with nature in mind, our backyards and gardens can provide excellent wildlife habitat. Using a stunning collection of photographs, Lisa will introduce you to some of the many winged creatures that will benefit from nature-based gardening and provide some tips for increasing your wildlife sightings.

Please register to watch this replay and you will immediately receive an email containing the link to the recording.