As late Spring becomes early Summer, it means one thing: turtle time! Join us for an afternoon of exploring our wetlands in search of these fascinating reptiles. We'll visit areas where turtles like to nest in hopes of finding some eggs, and, with a little luck, get an up-close look at a painted turtle. We'll conclude with a trip to the Rockery to see if we can summon our resident snapping turtle, Godzilla.
Connect with nature and tune in to the multitude of organisms that surround us, starting here at Joppa Flats! This free drop-in family event features an engaging mixture of indoor and outdoor activities that will open your eyes to the great biodiversity of animals, plants, and insects in our gardens, salt marshes, and backyards.
We will read Beaver at Long Pond by Lindsay Barrett George, take a close-up look at some beaver artifacts, and then take a walk to Rockery Pond to see a beaver lodge, dam, beaver chews, and scent mounds. Find out why beaver teeth are orange and what they use their tails for! We may even try our luck at making our own beaver lodge.
In this outdoor survival skills program, we will venture out onto the Ipswich River. Learn the basics of canoe safety, paddle strokes, and the river knowledge needed to travel on the water. When we stop at Perkins Island, you will be challenged to explore the area and craft your own paddle out of natural materials, and then test it out on the paddle back to the mainland. No previous canoe or outdoor skills are necessary, just a strong survival instinct!
Each 'Sense of Wonder' outing will begin with a short introduction indoors, and then we will go outside for a walk. Topics for each walk are listed below, but we will stop and investigate anything that crosses our path. Join us for one or both of these spring programs.
Do you know all the animals that you share your neighborhood with? You may be surprised to learn that many of the animals you see on a visit to the sanctuary might be living in your backyard, too. We'll hike the trails to learn how to identify the signs of aniamls that might be living in your backyard habitat and then give you the tools to make your yard more inviting to beneficial species.
Comic books and movies are filled with characters with superpowers that humans would love to have, like flight, super-hearing, super-vision, super-speed, and super-strength. But did you know that many animals possess these amazing abilities, and some animals even inspired our favorite superheroes? Come investigate some of the super-organisms that live on our sanctuary - you will be amazed!
Families are welcome to join Cape Ann YMCA on a hike through the wild of Ravenswood Park in Gloucester Massachusetts! Lace up your hiking shoes and come for a stress relieving hike in Ravenswood Park with your Y Friends! Dogs are encouraged, so bring along your four legged friends. *This group will be meeting at the park gate at 10:00am.*
Celebrate Mother’s Day at the Crane Estate! Moms deserve the world and more! Show the mothers in your life some love and invite them to spend an afternoon with the family in the beautiful formal gardens of the Crane Estate, enjoying a tea party, crafting a beautiful flower crown, and creating precious family memories. Mom will leave smiling and beautiful in a crown she rightly deserves!
Spring is the season when frogs, toads, and salamanders return to the wetlands to lay their eggs. After a short introduction in the Nature Center, where we will learn about the life cycles of these amazing creatures, we will search the sanctuary's wetlands and woodlands for salamanders and other amphibians on the move. If we're lucky, we might be able to catch a few to observe up close and then release. We'll also swing by our vernal pool, where we often find wood frog and spotted salamander eggs.
