Workshops, Webinars, Field Trips, and Other Events

Join Vermont Center for Ecostudies Staff Biologist Kevin Tolan, as we take a virtual step into the world of vernal pools and learn how to document and conserve these delicate ecosystems in your area. This talk is presented in partnership with the Association of Vermont Conservation Commissions (AVCC)

Following this presentation, Kevin will tour the state with a series of field events co-hosted with local conservation commissions. If you would like to schedule an event in your town, please reach out to Kevin at ktolan@vtecostudies.org. A complete list of dates and locations will be posted here as soon as it is available. Stay tuned for more details!

Registration is full for this outing. As the ground thaws and mud season begins, it’s prime time to see woodcocks put on their dramatic show. In open fields surrounded by woods, starting around 20 minutes after sunset, males give “peent” calls before taking off from the ground and flying in spirals upwards, approaching 300 feet. Join VCE Data Manager Megan Massa for an evening observing the spectacle of the American Woodcock’s mating display. We’ll meet at the VCE office for a brief talk about woodcocks and a warm beverage, then we’ll take a short walk over to a nearby field to watch our local woodcocks spiral through the air. Limited spots available – advance registration is required.

Not Easy Being Green: How Urbanization Impacts Amphibian Communities

Brian is a conservation ecologist whose research explores the impact of human-mediated environmental change on wildlife. From 2020-2024, he developed a project to study how urbanization affects frogs and toads in Northwest Ohio, and how we can use those beloved amphibians to protect habitat for dozens of other species. Brian will share stories and sound bites from the fascinating study of our imperiled amphibian friends, while discussing research on how to protect frogs in your own backyard.

Finding Host Plants & Caterpillars

The Second Vermont Butterfly Atlas (VBA) is an effort to document all the butterfly species in the state, and you can help! Join Vermont Center for Ecostudies staff biologist Amber Jones to learn about the VBA, butterfly host plants, and how to find caterpillars in the field. All butterfly experience and skill levels welcome.

Interested in learning how to identify and document vernal pools? Join VCE biologist Kevin Tolan, the Hartford Conservation Commission, and the Hartford Salamander Team for a guided vernal pool walk. Please dress for the weather and wear sturdy waterproof footwear or rubber boots. No registration required.

Interested in learning how to identify and document vernal pools? Join VCE biologist Kevin Tolan and the Salisbury, Ripton, and Middlebury Conservation Commissions for a guided vernal pool walk. Please dress for the weather and wear sturdy waterproof footwear or rubber boots. Directions provided upon registration.

Nectaring Butterflies

The Second Vermont Butterfly Atlas (VBA) is an effort to document all the butterfly species in the state, and you can help! Join Vermont Center for Ecostudies staff biologist Amber Jones to learn about the VBA and explore the nectaring plants that support our butterflies. All butterfly experience and skill levels welcome.

Interested in learning how to identify and document vernal pools? Join VCE biologist Kevin Tolan and the Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center for a guided vernal pool walk. Please dress for the weather and wear sturdy waterproof footwear or rubber boots. Directions provided upon registration.

Practical Butterfly Photography

Butterflies are flighty. So most of us don’t want to fuss with complicated settings on fancy cameras when we see one. In this webinar, you’ll learn practical skills and techniques for capturing reliable butterfly images with your phone or point-and-shoot camera. Your instructor, Bryan Pfeiffer, is a writer and naturalist who has photographed butterflies everywhere from the tropics to above the Arctic Circle, and has taught photography to hundreds of naturalists and biologists. See his work at chasingnature.substack.com.

A proposed rule change in Vermont puts our vernal pools in peril—we’re going to need everyone’s help to put them on the map so they’re protected! Ephemeral and often hidden in the forest, vernal pools are easy to miss. But we can confirm that a shallow wetland is indeed a vernal pool by looking for the specialist animals that inhabit them: Spotted Salamanders, Wood Frogs, Jefferson and Blue-spotted Salamanders, fairy shrimp, and fingernail clams. You probably have at least one vernal pool right in your neighborhood. Join VCE Staff Biologist Kevin Tolan out in the field to explore vernal pools and learn about this fascinating part of the forest ecosystem. Limited spots available – advance registration is required.

Firelight and the origins of storytelling
This talk will explore mounting evidence on the importance of firelight during human evolution, especially the origins of spoken language. Nate is an anthropologist and evolutionary biologist studying the behavior, ecology, and functional morphology of humans and nonhuman primates.

Butterflying by Habitat

The Second Vermont Butterfly Atlas (VBA) is an effort to document all the butterfly species in the state, and you can help! Join Vermont Center for Ecostudies conservation biologist Kent McFarland to learn how you can use habitats to find your target butterflies for the VBA. All butterfly experience and skill levels welcome.

Beyond Butterfly Basics: Swallowtail Tiger ID

The Second Vermont Butterfly Atlas (VBA) is an effort to document all the butterfly species in the state, and you can help! Join Vermont Center for Ecostudies conservation biologist Kent McFarland to learn about the VBA and puzzle through IDing Vermont’s three Tiger Swallowtail species. All butterfly experience and skill levels welcome.

On this outing, we’ll keep our eyes and ears open for warblers and other spring migrants as we follow the historic carriage roads in Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park up to the Pogue, a picturesque 14-acre pond. Led by VCE Conservation Biologist Kent McFarland and Data Manager Megan Massa, this morning of birding during spring migration will be filled with their extensive knowledge of our forests and the birds that rely on them. No birding experience is required. Participants are welcome to join the trip leaders for a casual lunch at Ranch Camp in Woodstock after our outing. Limited spots available – advance registration is required.

As flowers bloom around the farm, it’s prime time to look for pollinators—native bees, bumble bees, butterflies, and other insects abound! Join VCE conservation biologist Desirée Narango and VCE director of conservation science Ryan Rebozo to learn about two of VCE’s research projects taking place at Cedar Circle Farm and to see what pollinators we can find along the way.

We’ll explore a native plant garden while learning about the Native Plant Ecostype Experiment. Then, we’ll make our way to Cedar Circle Farm’s blueberry field to learn about the Wild Bees on Farms project. Along the way, we’ll surely find plenty of pollinators to capture our interest. Limited spots available – advance registration required.

Enjoy three days of exploring loon lakes, birding northern forests, and simply enjoying Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom with VCE Executive Director Susan Hindinger and Loon Biologist Eric Hanson.

Are you a science educator? Then join us for VCE’s Community Science Teacher Education Workshop!

In this four-day program, you’ll engage in inquiry-based exercises that incorporate both data collection and analysis, gain confidence incorporating field methods into your curriculum, work with open-access data, discuss both planning and conducting community science, and receive a primer on the ecology of Connecticut River’s Upper Valley.