Topsfield

Bring your troop and the whole family to meet our maple trees, tour the sugarhouse, try a taste of our sweet syrup, and participate in winter games and activities. Try your hand at using real sugaring tools at the tree-tapping station, warm up and toast marshmallows by the campfire, and participate in a snow creature building contest where the winner gets a free bottle of syrup! Our dress-like-a-lumberjack photo booth can capture your sweet memories and each scout will go home with a special maple sugaring jamboree badge.

There's a lot going on in the natural world in winter, so bundle up the family and join us for an outdoor exploration! This walk will begin with a short introduction indoors, and then we'll go outside to explore. What birds visit your house in winter? We'll walk the trails looking, listening, and calling for birds. After our hike, we'll return to the Nature Center to warm up and view birds from our observation window.

In this outdoor survival skills program, older children will learn the basics of the ancient outdoor skill of shelter building. We will look at real examples of animal homes for inspiration, learn some different shelter types and their pros and cons, discuss shelter safety, and make our own full-size shelters on the sanctuary. If there is snow we will make cozy quinzhee huts and if there is no snow we will make leafy lean-to huts. No experience necessary--just a desire to survive and thrive in the wild!

First Day Hikes take place at nearby State Parks nationwide on New Year's Day. The annual hike originated more than 20 years ago at the Blue Hills Reservation in Massachusetts. The program was launched to promote both healthy lifestyles throughout the year and year-round recreation at state parks. On the North Shore, there will be First Day hikes at Bradley Palmer State Park and Breakheart Reservation.