Cottrell-Baldwin Lecture Series 2019 – From the Ground Up

Join us for the 2019 Cottrell-Baldwin Environmental Lecture Series at the Henry I. Baldwin Environmental Center at Fox Forest in Hillsborough. This year’s series explores topics from the bedrock that underlies the hillsides of the Granite State upward to the original forests that covered them, to the loons whose haunting voice echo across our spring time waters and dragons and delicate damsels that dance through the summer air.

A collection of photographs by Ken MacGray are on display at the Forest Society's Conservation Center in Concord until the end of February 2019. The exhibit is a display of watery-themed photographs shot in various locations around New Hampshire.

Along my travels through the forests and woods of New Hampshire, I've always been drawn to water. Its sights and its sounds. The way it moves freely along its course, even in the presence of obstructions. Its destructive nature to reshape entire landscapes and its quiet trickle underground.

Join the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests and certified master beekeeper Janice Mercieri for “To Bee or Not to Bee: Explaining the Plight of our honeybees and how it affects our food chain" at The Rocks in Bethlehem on February 20, 2019. The free program is part of the annual winter Bretzfelder Park Family Educational Series. Mercieri is a certified master beekeeper with 7 years of experience growing hives and teaching beekeeping in the North Country.

What happened here? Whose footprint is that? Join Center for Wildlife and the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests to answer these questions and more! Following an environmental education program including live animal ambassadors from the Center for Wildlife, we will take a hike and identify the tracks of our local wildlife as well as the evidence of several telltale wildlife encounters! By recognizing the wing-prints of an owl catching their prey, or the midden left over by a red squirrel's snack, we can learn so much about our wildlife's winter habits!

Join the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests and Doug Morin, Wildlife Biologist with Vermont Fish and Wildlife, for a presentation on “Moose, Marten, and More – how a changing climate might affect northern wildlife” at Bretzfelder Park in Bethlehem on February 27, 2019 at 7 p.m. The free program is part of the annual winter Bretzfelder Park Family Educational Series. It is open to the public and will begin at 7 p.m. Morin will provide an overview of some of the region's northern wildlife including moose, American marten, and boreal birds.

The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests and Michael Bruno will lead an exploration of the history of New Hampshire’s past that can be seen while traveling on NH’s highways, “Cruising NH History.” New Hampshire history is uniquely on display along the highways of the Granite State. The New Hampshire roadside historical markers commemorate significant events and individuals from the first settlers arriving in 1623 to notable individuals who helped define what New Hampshire is today. New Hampshire also played a major role in the birth of our nation.

Releasing and pruning wild apple trees can keep them healthy and result in greater fruit production for use by a wide variety of wildlife. This basic introduction to releasing and pruning wild apple trees, with both indoor classroom session and outdoor field practice, will be led by Nigel Manley (Director of The Rocks, the North Country Conservation & Education Center of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests).

The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests and Richard Boisvert present “Coping with Climate Change 12,000 to 10,000 Years Ago” Boisvert discusses the end of the Ice Age not simply being the warming of the Earth resulting in the melting of the great continental glaciers and northward expansion of the woodlands and prairies. It was a time of abrupt change, climatic reversals and broad movements of people, plants and prey. The colonization of the Northeast by Native Americans is a dynamic story of adaptation to a unique environment.

Maple Season at The Rocks celebrates spring and sweet traditions

Maple tours will be offered at The Rocks March 16, 23-24, 30-31, and April 6.

Guided tours of our sugaring operation including horse drawn and tractor drawn rides, tap a maple tree with the group, tree ID, the history of mapling, attend a chef demo about cooking with maple, the NH Maple Museum and sample maple syrup, pickles and donuts. Cost, including both rides, horse drawn and tractor drawn is $18 for adults and $15 for children.