The ultimate summer adventure meets spring break! Join us during school break for a special half-day drop-off program for children ages 7-14, full of outdoor adventure, environmental science, team-building, and crafts! Campers should come with a water bottle, outdoor clothes, a packed lunch and a spirit of adventure!
Take a deep breath and thank the trees! Families are invited to join us for a celebration of all things arboreal, on a guided hike through the Castle hill grounds, woodland trails, and pine grove, while learning all about both the natural and non-native/introduced trees living here. Participants will use all five senses to meet a tree; learn to ID trees via their leaves, bark, and seeds; discover unique adaptations for survival; and gain an expanded appreciation for all the benefits and ecosystem services that trees provide.
The beach is much more than just sand! On this family education program, participants will learn about the diverse habitats of the sandy beach and dunes. Learners discover shells, seaweed, plants, animal tracks, and other signs of life on the beach and in the dunes, get an up-close look at sand to explore its composition and how it formed, and use scientific tools to measure the ever-changing shape of the beach. Learn how The Trustees are managing and protecting our ever-changing coast, and how you can play a role!
Join us in making a pie together in celebration of Strawberry and Rhubarb season. Students will learn how to make flaky, all butter pie crust and the best way to highlight the prominent fruits of the month. This class will lead participants through arranging a lattice top and will include tips and tricks to make your pie a show stopper at your next pot luck! Class will end with enjoying a slice of pie together and students will be sent home with a full pie.
Spring is a time of renewal and excitement at Appleton Farms! Join us to celebrate, explore, and engage with our animals and gardens as you “hop” along the farmyard to different interactive learning stations. From planting seeds into soil pots, transplanting seedlings into the ground, feeding our Angora bunnies, felting small eggs, and brushing the goats, your child will be immersed in the Springtime activities of the farm. Collect an egg stamp at each station and take your fully-stamped Trail Hop “passport” to the Farmhouse Cafe to collect your special treat!
Join The Trustees of Reservations to explore the dunes on Castle Neck and Crane Beach, where we will learn how animals and plants survive our New England winters in this unforgiving habitat. Learn the basics of animal tracking, plant survival adaptations, and discover the human history of survival in our coastal habitats, with the rich history of The Crane Estate providing a glimpse into the evolving human uses of the land, from the indigenous Pawtucket through early European settlers and into the modern era. A sighting of a resident snowy owl is always a possible bonus!
Join chef Liz Walcowicz in this lively, hands-on cooking class. Participants will learn how to utilize root vegetables from the farm and other local farmers to create an exciting multi-course meal. The menu changes seasonally and each class will provide an opportunity for participants to increase their comfort in the kitchen through new knife skills, techniques and flavor profiles. There will be equal parts cooking and eating, and class ends with a shared meal, so bring your appetite!
Join us at the Farmhouse for all things maple! As soon as our maple trees are tapped and the sap comes out of the sugar shack, all of our scratch-made menu items will include pure Appleton Farms maple syrup.
Winter is in the air and the animals of the farm and woods have prepared themselves for winter. Can we find their signs, like homes, tracks, and caches of food? What happens in winter around the farm? We invite little farmers to experience life at the farm in winter. Through farm “chores,” age-appropriate hands-on activities, stories, and visits with our barnyard animals, little farmers will become fully immersed in what life is like for a farmer.
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.
