The annual Memorial Day Parade starts on Grove Street and continues along Main Street to the Veterans Memorial Green for a service in front of the Town Library. The parade reforms, and will continue to Pine Grove Cemetery for another service. All residents and especially military families are invited and encouraged to attend. The Proctor School Band will perform.
In spring frogs, toads, and salamanders return to watery places to lay their eggs. Meander along the sanctuary's wetland and woodlands trails for salamanders and other amphibians on the move. If we're lucky, we'll catch a few amphibians to observe up close and then release. We'll also swing by a vernal pool, where we often find Wood Frog and Spotted Salamander babies.
Everybody loves Fireflies! Mass Audubon has been coordinating the Firefly Watch community science project since taking over from the Museum of Science in 2018. Counting firefly flashes is fun, but we are ready to think bigger. Firefly Watch Pro, the next step to our existing project, asks you to get you up close to the fireflies, photograph them to identify specific genera, and provide flash pattern data that might help us identify the species in your habitat. This additional data will help us learn what fireflies live where, and over time will give us a sense of population change for specific species and genera.
The soil in the garden has barely been turned and already the first sign of Summer has appeared. Strawberries! With Strawberries comes the Topsfield Historical Society's 50th Strawberry Festival and Craft Fair in early June which offers a spectacle of strawberry fun for each and every one. The Strawberry Festival and Craft Fair, one of the best in the region, celebrates the region's rich agricultural heritage.
DINO & DRAGON STROLL is the only North American Tour that lets up walk-thru and get up close to life-like and life-size dinosaurs AND dragons! Nowhere else can you encounter colossal sized dinosaurs ranging from babies to the huge Brachiosaurus standing 20 ft. tall and 36 ft. long, the massive Mamenchisaurus standing over 2 stories high and 60 ft. long, the mammoth Spinosaurus also over 2 stories high and over 45 ft. long, the enormous, show stopping T-Rex at 28 ft. tall and over 60 ft. long and the gigantic Apatosaurus that is 24 ft. tall and 65 ft. long, just to name a few!
The Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF) manages charitable funds for both donors and nonprofits, awards grants, teaches best practices to nonprofits and their boards and convenes peer groups large and small to provide networking, higher education and economies of scale in Essex County Massachusetts. In their mission of community outreach, they have compiled an extensive list of available scholarships for student on the North Shore and Essex County.
As late spring transitions to early summer, one thing is for sure: it's turtle time! Join us to explore our wetlands in search of these fascinating reptiles. We'll visit areas where turtles like to nest and bask in the sun, look at and touch real turtle shells, and, with a little luck, get an up-close look at a Painted Turtle. We'll conclude with a trip to the Rockery to see if we can summon our resident Snapping Turtle, Godzilla.
Each year on the first warm rainy night of spring, wood frogs and mole salamanders begin a mass migration to vernal pools where they breed. If you happen to be out on one of these evenings, the experience can be spectacular. Tonight, a part of the sanctuary will be transformed into a Big Night scene. Participants will take a one-hour guided walk along the Vernal Pool Trail, where they will meet some interesting characters who will share some facts and stories about themselves, vernal pools, and this special time of year.
Essex County Trail Association is hosting the 27th annual Equine Expo & Tack Sale to be held on Saturday, April 30th from 9-3 in the Arena Building at the Topsfield Fairgrounds on Route 1, Topsfield, MA. Individuals, groups & businesses make up our booths offering new and used items for the horse and rider/driver. To outfit everyone for the show and trail season, purchase a new saddle, upgrade all your tack and equipment, purchase supplements, books, herbal products, home décor or gifts this is the place to be!
Discover the sites and sounds of night in the early Spring with a walk under the full moon. We'll look for signs of wildlife emerging from winter as we explore the sanctuary after-hours. We may get a chance to glimps salamanders and frogs as they begin migrating to vernal pools to breed and lay eggs.
