Latest Stories, Events, Activities, Camps & Recipes

Essex County Greenbelt Association invites families to Cox Reservation for a show-and-tell that introduces children of all ages to the importance of bees and other pollinators.

Greenbelt and North Shore Nature Programs team up for this event for all ages!Join expert naturalists to learn all about vernal pools and the creatures that live there! 

While just about everybody on the North Shore has probably been to Crane Beach, the dunes of Castle Neck are a much less explored world unto themselves. Offering one of the most accessible dune ecosystems north of Cape Cod, Castle Neck has over six miles of trails, traversing the dunes, maritime scrub forest, and beautiful beaches on both the Ipswich Bay and Essex/Castle Neck River estuary sides of the peninsula. These trails take you through Pitch Pine forests, up huge dunes offering stunning views of Choate Island, and by the varied landscapes of Castle Neck, including naturally occurring cranberry bogs.

Gloucester Education Foundation hosts the annual Power of Play Festival in Gloucester Massachusetts. GEF’s annual “Day of Play” is back for an 8th year on Sunday, March 22! This FREE community event draws hundreds of Gloucester families to the GHS Field House to participate in dozens of fun activities, led by community volunteers and partners. Check out photos below from past years by community volunteer Marty Del Vecchio and GHS student photographers, and this video by 1623 Studios! Together, they will give you a taste for this beloved event.