The Watershed Institute has fall offerings of safe, in-person outdoor programs for families. Our hands-on activities are guided by our Watershed educators and are geared for all ages, including preschool, school age, teens, and adults.
Come join us as we discover the creatures of the night, learn field sketching, explore plant life, hike along the Watershed Reserve, splash in the Stony Brook, hear campfire tales, enjoy wildlife walks, and be bedazzled by the night sky.
Our new Naturalist Explorations series will entice you outdoors. You’ll learn how to deepen your connection with nature as you later share the wildlife and other natural observations with the group.
Consider our Voices from the Wild reading group as we exploring the wide and varied terrain of nature writing. Each month readers are invited to read a specific book or collection, of prose or poetry.
Or come to one of our new H2O Quests, a one-hour adventure that mixes imaginative fun with solving a mystery scenario as you explore the Watershed Reserve. Map in hand, you and your fellow detectives will pick up clues from scientists, naturalists, and tie the details together to solve the mystery.
In our Home School and After School series, visit our living laboratory of our 950-acre Watershed Reserve as we explore the fascinating world of plants: carnivorous plants, aquatic plants, fall coloration, and more. We will identify plants as scientists, dissect a plant, and build LEGO plants to learn about the various features. We may hike along the Stony Brook as well as discover plants in-and-near Wargo Pond. Families will return home with some activities to extend and reinforce the topics.
In October, come to our Origins of Halloween Night Hike where you’ll be enchanted by a variety of characters who share their tales.
On Nov. 5 and 6, when schools are closed in New Jersey, we will have Fall Family Camp when we will go on hikes to Big Boulder, the Hobbit Tree and other favorite places on the Watershed Reserve. Or join us in the Animal Detectives program and channel your inner wildlife sleuth, searching for signs of the animals that inhabit the reserve. We’ll look at tracks, scat, bones, and other animal artifacts to learn some identification skills.
These classes are offered in small, socially distanced groups or via Zoom from the comfort of your own home or garden. Staggered start times, masks, and social distancing.
