View the calendar of Nature Programs & Special Events
In this glorious celebration of the night, New York Times bestselling nature writer Leigh Ann Henion invites us to leave our well-lit homes, step outside, and embrace the dark as a profoundly beautiful part of the world we inhabit. Because no matter where we live, we are surrounded by animals that rise with the moon, and blooms that reveal themselves as light fades.
We will be meeting in person at the Nature Learning Center in Albany. However, there is also a Zoom link option for those unable to join in person.
The Nature Learning Center at Tin Mountain's Albany campus will be closed for a private event.
The trails are open dawn to dusk!
The Eastern Slopes Airport in Fryeburg, Maine, has a wonderful Pine Barrens habitat which is home to species that can be scarce in the Valley such as Prairie Warbler, Vesper Sparrow, Eastern Towhee, Eastern Whip-poor-wiil and Common Nighthawk among others. While we have a good chance of hearing and\or seeing these species at dusk, our target will the Common Nighthawk show where, with luck, we experience the “peenting” and “booming” of the nighthawks in action overhead, often at close range. When birding, nothing is guaranteed, but we have a good chance!
This will be pop-up event depending upon the weather. We anticipate it to be held sometime July 8-17
Link to be notified when the date is set: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfNVmxqAC1QehdiddjMefm8fl2RkzsziIEuj2RF0hB1omJrTQ/viewform?usp=dialog
The Nature Learning Center at Tin Mountain's Albany campus will be closed for a private event.
The trails are open dawn to dusk!
We had so much fun birding Thursday mornings this spring, we are extending it!
Join us for monthly birding at a variety of locations around the Valley. Come for one or all. All birding levels welcome. These informal walks are a great way to both learn and share your birding knowledge.
Please let us know if you need to borrow binoculars.
June 18: Tin Mountain Conservation Center, Albany
July 16: Dahl Sanctuary, North Conway
August 20: Thorne Pond, Bartlett
Join us for the opening of From the Mountains to the Sea: Paintings and prints by Blair Folts. Blair is an artist and environmental activist living in the Ossipee Watershed. Her work is inspired by nature and her connection to the earth. She is passionate about adventuring to remote areas in search of natural mysteries which she refers to as “landscapeness.” After graduating from the University of Maine with a degree in English and Art, Folts attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston where she pursued a graduate degree in painting and printmaking.
The prints and paintings on display at Tin Mountain are inspired from landscape sketches Folts did in the Penobscot Bay Watershed in Maine “From the Mountains to the Sea.” Whether hiking at Baxter in winter or kayaking off the Coast of Maine in summer, the work explores weather, light and the magic of being alone in the New England landscape.
If you are unable to make the opening her work will be on display through the end of August.
Of the hundred or so species of butterflies that live in New Hampshire, we might see over thirty different ones (and hundreds of individuals) on this July day. We will split into teams led by pros and survey multiple sites around our area, and return to Tin Mountain to compile our data, eat ice cream and share stories of the ones that got away.
Our data (and that from SEVEN other similar "circle counts" around the state each July) all goes to the North American Butterfly Association. All of this data helps biologists get a clearer picture of the ranges of our butterflies here. A beautiful category of critter to learn about and understand in our stunning but changing natural world.
We have two different options:
Option 1: Beginners - shorter, easier, more instructive
9:45am-11:30am Counting will take place at Tin Mt property on Bald Hill Rd, Albany NH
link to register for option 1- beginner, morning-only:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfKhkfeVKUQkG7TkkLQ7NjTmFyKlE3VfZlUhZm4ypGYbXsNiw/viewform?usp=publish-editor
Option 2: Experienced: Novice, Intermediate and beyond! A full day over sometimes tricky, brushy terrain.
9 am - 4 pm Meet at Tin Mt Center on Bald Hill Rd, divide in teams and depart to survey various locations in our 15 mile diameter circle. Note: If you are an experienced “butterflier” but cannot participate the entire day, please still sign up for this option and you can depart early.
link to register for option 2: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeAn1Bq7c3qbrv4VKXkSNuuKRbrV0WIyuLEVfqt9pchM5cM5g/viewform?usp=dialog
All are welcome -4 pm - Tally party
Return to Tin Mt Nature Learning Center to tally all groups' data and enjoy ice cream!
More details: This annual count is one of eight such one-day, July counts in the state. Wildlife biologists and conservation scientists use data from these state counts as they are essential for understanding the dynamics of butterfly geography and population trends. We submit our data to NABA (the North American Butterfly Association).
The Nature Learning Center at Tin Mountain's Albany campus will be closed, because Tin Mountain hosts: Ride the Rockpile!
This is an annual bike event to the summit of Mount Washington on the Auto Road.
The trails are open dawn to dusk!
Dirt roads and driveways are often a major source of sediment laden runoff that impact New Hampshire’s lakes and streams. Recently, extreme rainstorms caused monumental washouts in local roads and driveways resulting in much of the eroded soil soon reappearing in nearby lakes and ponds.
Drawing on decades of hands-on experience, Russ Lanoie shares practical, low-cost techniques for maintaining unpaved roads to reduce potholes and erosion that make roads difficult to drive on, while also protecting surface water quality. For over 50 years, Lanoie has dealt with managing water in wet basements and septic systems until focusing on gravel road and driveway restoration and maintenance services for over 25 local developments including those surrounding Conway Lake and other local water bodies.
This has led him to share what he has learned through presentations to road and lake associations throughout Maine and New Hampshire. He has also produced an Owner’s Manual for those who travel on dirt & gravel roads titled A Ditch in Time that is available on-line.
This webinar is presented through the Tin Mountain Conservation Center and the Big Pea Porridge Watershed Preservation Association. Big Pea Porridge Pond in Madison, NH was the beneficiary of much of the road damage caused by the recent 500 year storm. As such extreme storms are becoming commonplace it is important for all homeowners in erosion prone areas to understand how smarter road care improves the roads and driveways they travel on while also protecting water quality.
Be sure to register to receive the Zoom link.
Copies of A Ditch in Time can be downloaded from Lanoie’s Website: https://ruralhometech.com/a-ditch-in-time/
The Nature Learning Center at Tin Mountain's Albany campus will be closed for a private event.
The trails are open dawn to dusk!
