New Pond Farm 2023

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Adult Programs

Registration is required for all programs.
(Unless noted otherwise)

Please register online or by calling 203-938-2117

Play Reading

Needlework Drop-In

Sundays
March 24, April 21, May 5, & June 9

2- 4 p.m.
Join us for a relaxing afternoon of knitting, crocheting, embroidery, and other needlework. We will gather around the fireplace and share stories, ideas, and advice as we each work on our own projects. Open to all experience levels. Come be inspired, meet new friends, and learn something new.

No registration required.
For more information, contact Stacey Valimont at stacey@newpondfarm.org

Spring Migration: Birding with Joe Bear

Tuesday, April 23
7:30- 9:30 a.m.
Wednesday, May 15
7:30 – 9:30 a.m.
Catch the spring migration by joining expert birder and environmentalist Joe Bear on a leisurely 2-hour walk through our diverse habitats. We will search in open fields, woodlands, and wetlands – seeking those on their way back to their summer breeding grounds.

This program is:
Free.

Registration is required

April 23 May 15

Wildflower Ramble & Brown Bag Lunch

Wednesday, April 24
11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Each year in memory of one of our founding board members, Helen Hermes, we take a leisurely stroll down our streamside trail to discover some of her favorite spring ephemerals. Trout Lily, Rue Anemone, Dutchman’s Breeches, Trillium, and Spring Beauties will all be here to greet you! Bring a brown bag lunch and share happy conversations on our balcony as you enjoy the weeping cherry blossoms and views into our early spring pastures.

FREE thanks to the Schroeder Education Fund

Please Register Here

Honey Tasting

Saturday, May 4
1- 2:30 p.m.
Join NPF Apiary manager, Ann Murray, for a tasty exploration of one of the most popular products of the beehive – honey! Our honey bees forage on many different types of flowers throughout the spring, summer, and fall. As the floral sources change, so does the flavor of their treasured honey. We will discuss the differing nectar sources of hives around the world as we taste our way through the program!

This program is:
$15 per member,
$20 per non-member

Please Register Here

Birding & Breakfast with Miley Bull

Tuesday, May 7
7 – 9 a.m.
Miley Bull is a one-of-a-kind treasure, a well-known ornithologist, a world traveler, a raconteur, and CT Audubon Society’s Senior Director of Science and Conservation. Please join Miley for a fascinating morning in search of spring warblers, bluebirds, swallows, and other feathered residents.
Breakfast treats await when you return to the Learning Center.

This program is:
$15 per member,
$20 per non-member

Please Register Here


In Partnership with The Mark Twain Library

Nature Book Club-
‘Better Living Through Birding’

Wednesday, May 8
11:30a.m. – 12:30p.m.
Delve more deeply into nature, ecology and wildlife with a new book club focusing on science, conservation and natural history! Whether you’re an avid birder, a devoted gardener or an enthusiastic weekend hiker, you’ll expand your understanding of the world around us while also meeting folks who share a devotion to our planet!

A self-described “Blerd” (Black nerd), Christian Cooper is an avid comics fan and expert birder who devotes every spring to gazing upon the migratory birds that stop to rest in Central Park, just a subway ride away from where he lives in New York City. While in the park one morning in May 2020, Cooper had an encounter with a dog walker, which exploded age-old racial tensions. Cooper’s viral video of the incident would send shock waves through the nation.

In his bestselling memoir, Cooper tells the story of his extraordinary life leading up to the now-infamous incident in Central Park and shows how a life spent looking up at the birds prepared him, in the most uncanny of ways, to be a gay, Black man in America today.

The Nature Book Club is moderated by Cole Tucker-Walton, a Redding Land Trust board member and author of Redding’s Big Outdoors column in the Redding Sentinel, and John McLeran, a member of the Redding Land Trust and Town of Redding’s Open Space Manager.

Please register through the Library
Here

Tree ID

Saturday, June 1
10 – 11 a.m.

(Rain Date: Sunday, June 2)
Connect with the local landscape by learning to identify trees using their silhouette, branching patterns, leaf shapes, bark, and more. Join arborist Robert Finch for a fun and informative hike around the property and learn how to recognize common species.

This program is:
$10 per member,
$15 per non-member

Please Register Here

Embroidery for All Levels

Saturday, June 1
1 – 2:30 p.m.
Come learn a variety of common embroidery stitches while creating either a sampler style or small flower pot design. Finished work will be displayed in a small hoop.

This program is:
$20 per member,
$25 per non-member

Please Register Here

Members Only Opportunity

Pollinator Garden Tour and Tea

Monday, June 10
1 – 2 p.m.

Take a break from your busy schedule and spend an afternoon visiting our farmhouse gardens. Enjoy our Fred Schroeder Pollinator Garden, which will be brimming with native plantings, bees, and butterflies. Tour our Shakespeare and Herb Gardens, and share iced tea, lemonade, and homemade treats in our shade garden.

Members Only! Free.

Registration is required.

Please Register Here

Stay Tuned !

In Partnership with The Mark Twain Library

Light Pollution & Bird Migration (Hybrid)

Millions of birds pass through Connecticut every fall and spring on their way to summer nesting grounds and winter habitats. Our state is located along the critical Atlantic Flyway, where shorelines and green spaces offer havens for birds to rest and refuel.

But light pollution is disrupting this critical migration pattern and endangering birds on the Atlantic Flyway. Artificial light emitted by homes, buildings, street lights and bridges can disorient birds, causing them to crash into windows, or circle for hours until they drop from exhaustion. The result is catastrophic: Nearly 1 billion bird deaths in North America each year.

This is a hybrid program that will take place both live at the Library, and virtually over Zoom. For a full experience we recommend attending this program live at the Library.

About the speaker:
Craig Repasz is co-founder and co-chair of Lights Out Connecticut, which advocates for legislation to protect birds from light pollution and conducts educational outreach across the state.

Craig is also president of the Friends of Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, an organization devoted to supporting critical habitats. He was president of the New Haven Bird Club and the conservation chair of the Connecticut Ornithological Association. He has been the volunteer coordinator for the Connecticut Bird Atlas for six years. He enjoys backpacking and conducts Mountain Birdwatch surveys for the Vermont Center of Ecostudies, focusing on the Bicknell’s Thrush and other high elevation species.


Please take a look at some of the
nature activities and videos we have put together.


If you would like to view samples of past programs, past calendars can be found here