Curious about wildlife activity now that winter is upon us? Luckily, snow offers us a great canvas to see exactly who is here 🙂

Join Friends of the Mad River and Dave Muska, naturalist and educator, for a workshop on tracking and trailing wildlife.

We'll start at the shelter at Lareau Farm with a review of the signs, habitats, gaits, and tracks of species we might encounter in early winter. Next, we’ll head out on a walk in search of signs of animals. Along the way, we’ll learn about different tracking techniques and test out our newly acquired knowledge in the wild.

Since this activity is snow-dependent, we might have to reschedule to a more suitable date depending on the weather. Register below and email onome@friendsofthemadriver.org with questions or if you need any accommodation.

While this event is free, you can support our work by donating here.

About Dave Muska:
Dave Muska is a naturalist and educator with the North Branch Nature Center and founder of Ondatra Adventures, a business devoted to providing meaningful connections to the natural world through Guided Excursions, Naturalist Study, and Wilderness Living Skills. Dave also serves on the leadership council of the State of Vermont Fungal Scientific Advisory Group
(FSAG).
​
Dave offers instruction and apprenticeships in Fungal Ecology, Mushroom Identification, Wildlife Tracking, Wilderness Living Skills, and much more throughout the Northeastern US and beyond. He has studied with many talented professionals in the fields of his expertise and continues to learn, understanding that a true educator must also be a student. Dave believes that developing a personal relationship with the natural world is a fundamental component of a healthy life and a global community.

🌿We're excited to announce our partnership with the Mad River Valley Libraries on a monthly environmental-themed book club 🌿

Each month, we'll read a different book about the natural world and/or climate change and discuss its implications for our community and our planet. We'll cover a wide array of genres ranging from fiction to non-fiction and everything else in between.

In honor of winter, our December book selection is "Migrations" by Charlotte McConaghy. Set in a future where many animals have gone extinct, Migrations follows a young woman who talks her way onto a fishing boat and follows Arctic terns in their migration to the Antarctic. It’s a gripping story about the human condition set against the backdrop of a bird species that has one of the longest annual migrations of any animal on Earth. An arctic tern could cover anywhere from 30,000 km to 60,000 km every year in its search of an endless summer.

Copies are available for checkout at your local MRV library.

This discussion is co-hosted by the Joslin Memorial Library and snacks will be provided.

To learn more about Arctic terns, visit:
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/ends-earth/
​https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/facts/arctic-tern

Are you curious about what a floodplain is and why you hear that term in almost every discussion on flooding and climate resilience?

Then, join Friends of the Mad River and Ned Swanberg of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VT DEC) to learn about what floodplains are, why they are so important to health and safety, and how the river and precipitation shapes the valley that we call home. Ned is a regional floodplain manager for Vermont Central, and manages https://floodready.vermont.gov.

The workshop will be held at the Austin parcel, which is also the location of an ongoing floodplain forest restoration project. We'll learn about riverside soils, plants, and other signs to discern the health and vitality of the river and how it affects our lives. We'll also learn from our local experts on the history of the land and see the progress of the ongoing restoration work.

Please come dressed appropriately to be outdoors for 1-2 hours.
Distance: 0.5 - 1 mile
Terrain: Trail is mostly flat and consists of dirt trails covered in leaf litter or grass.

Register below and email onome@friendsofthemadriver.org with questions or if you need any accommodation.