OCT Volunteer Workdays are held the first and third Thursday of each month. Click here https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/36122266012/ to view details of scheduled workdays and to sign up.

Learn more about Orleans Conservation Trust. https://orleansconservationtrust.org/

Please join QiGong instructor Andrea Belford of Cape Cod QiGong to connect in nature. QiGong is the ancient Chinese practice of cultivating life force energy. With an emphasis on the five elements of nature (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water), we will follow a series of slow and gentle movements combining proper posture, healthy breathing, and mindfulness. This helps us achieve and maintain health, healing, and vitality of the body, mind, and spirit.

Cost: $18 per person. Please click here https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/p4UkaPYmrH9tQ2Gkf_3Bnw to sign up.

Photos courtesy of Andrea Belford (QiGong photo) and Gerry Beetham (nature photos)

Join the PCT and the Provincetown Public Library for a Nature Talk about the Fact and Myths of Bird Flu.
This past winter you may have noticed a surprising number of deceased waterfowl and seabirds on the beaches and piers of Provincetown. While avian mortality is of course a normal feature of the life cycle, we have been witnessing a serious uptick evident to anyone walking our nearly deserted town beaches.

Come learn more about Bird Flu hitting our area as Dr. Puryear debunks myths and reviews facts for our community to be better informed.

For 2-hours a month, you can join Barnstable Land Trust https://blt.org/ ’s “green team” by volunteering at Fuller Farm, a 22-acre signature property with a short woodland loop overlooking cranberry bogs and an open meadow trail following the field edge of a former dairy farm. The volunteer project might include trail maintenance, invasive plant removal, pollinator garden weeding, and something related. This program is supported in part by the Cape and Islands United Way. https://www.capeandislandsuw.org/

Note: Registration is required for each individual First Friday project. Volunteers should be prepared for physical activity including lifting, kneeling, digging, and cutting brush. BYO water, work gloves, and wear pants and closed-toe shoes. Training will be provided. Limited tools will be provided. If you prefer to bring your own – shovels, loppers, hand saws, and/or rakes are recommended. Project Leader Kelly Barber, Director of Land Stewardship, will send out specific project details the day before the volunteer day. We look forward to your help in stewarding this community gem!

Register here https://blt.org/fuller-farm-friday .

Kristin Andres, associate director for education and informational services at the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC https://apcc.org/ ), will take us on a journey through the natural world, uncovering a hidden life of insects that you didn’t know existed but that drives our ecosystem. In this Resilient Roots https://www.resroots.org/ presentation, she’ll cover not only which insects we should be trying to attract to our yards but also which native plants to include to draw in those garden helpers. The insect world includes specialists and generalists that together form the foundation of our food web; by ensuring that we provide the native plants they need, we gain better food production as well as more beauty in the garden.

Registration is required https://www.resroots.org/all-workshops/p/native-plants-and-pollinatores-67 . The standard cost is $30, with a sliding-scale fee available.

Join naturalist Andrea Higgins for a tracking adventure around the West Reservoir of Bell’s Neck Conservation Lands. Search for animal signs, examine local animal track casts, make observations, explore the woodlands surrounding the reservoir, and learn about our local flora and fauna. Discover clues and evidence of deer, otter, fox, coyote, muskrat, mink, raccoon, bobcat, flying squirrel, and birds too!

This walk will cover approximately 3 miles over varying terrain including some inclines, wooded paths, soft sand, and leaf covered areas. Please dress for the weather.

Cost: $20 per person. Please click here https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/DQ9pL3m5-6xLFDGkI87LrA to reserve.

Photos by James Carbone (deer), Peter Trull (coyote), Sarah Devlin (fox), and Gerry Beetham (muskrat).

Please join us at the newly restored Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve for a free guided walk led by Harwich Conservation Trust Board President Tom Evans. Tour the new half-mile All Persons Trail which crosses two bridges with views of Cold Brook flowing freely through the 66-acre Preserve for the first time in over a century. Learn how the recent ecological restoration project enhanced the health of the land and water for the benefit of people and wildlife.

This walk is free, but space is limited so advance reservation is required. To sign up, please click here https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/EnPvc8Kz4xu836LaEzthPA .

Photos courtesy of Gerry Beetham

Celebrate National Trails Day and join Barnstable Land Trust https://blt.org/ and Professor Gil Newton on walk through the diverse ecosystems of Crocker Neck in search of spring’s most glamorous flower: the pink lady slipper! Gil, a local ecologist and author, will help us search for these delicate wild orchids that thrive in pine and pine/oak woodlands, while also exploring the wonders of a salt marsh and estuary as well. Learn all about these ecosystems and the flora and fauna that thrive here. This trail is about 1.5 miles long and classified as easy based on a generally flat, wide trail. Location provided to registrants, event will be cancelled or postponed in the case of rain or severe weather. This program is part of Hike Barnstable https://blt.org/hikebarnstable Month and supported in part by Cape Cod Healthcare https://www.capecodhealth.org/ .

Register HERE https://blt.org/events/lady-slipper-hunt-at-crocker-neck .

Celebrate National Trails Weekend and join Barnstable Land Trust and friends as part of this Hike Barnstable https://blt.org/hikebarnstable special event where you can actually meet “Henry David Thoreau” (aka as Richard Smith of Concord who is a recognized living history interpreter well known for his Henry David Thoreau costumed portrayal). Explore BLT’s Fuller Farm beautiful post and beam barn and be inspired by community readers who will bring Henry David Thoreau’s short essay Walking and excerpts from Rachel Carson’s A Sense of Wonder to life. Then meander the gentle trails at Fuller Farms afterwards. This program is supported in part by Cape Cod Healthcare https://www.capecodhealth.org/ and the Mid-Cape Cultural Council https://massculturalcouncil.org/local-council/mid-cape/ , a local agency which is support by the Mass Cultural Council https://massculturalcouncil.org/ , a state agency. Registration suggested but not required.

Register HERE https://blt.org/thoreau-walking .

Please join naturalist and Kripalu Mindful Outdoor Guide Andrea Higgins for a Newbies in Nature outing to get outside and enjoy the spring blooms! Carry your baby in a front sling or backpack and enjoy the company of other young families while walking the trails of local conservation lands. June is such an inviting time to get outside and experience the beauty found in nature. Find newfound joy while connecting with your baby and seeing the wonder in their eyes as they discover the wild world around them.

Andrea will offer gentle prompts to engage your senses and encourage a deeper connection to nature and your child to create memories that will last a lifetime.

This program is free, but space is limited so reservation is required. To sign up, please click here https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/tWWSuxC2sUR3aBAU50JynQ .

Photos by Andrea Higgins (family photos) and Gerry Beetham (nature photos)