Welcome Winter!
Essex County Environmental Center
Click HERE to
view our Parks Calendar & Register Online Today!
Click HERE for our
Winter Public Programs Brochure
Thursday, December 26 & Friday,
December 27 9:30am to 3:30pm
For children ages 6-10. Campers explore our wooded
wetland forests in wintertime and enjoy stories, crafts, campfires
and forest adventures. Fee: $300 per child for all three days OR $110
per child per day.
Pre-registration HERE.
Pre-registration
HERE.
Pre-registration HERE.
PLEASE NOTE: THERE ARE NO REFUNDS GIVEN FOR MISSED
CLASSES
LITTLE EXPLORERS
Mondays— January 6, 13; February 3, 24
For ages 2 and 3 from 10am to 11am AND for ages 2 to 5 from 3pm to
4pm
Join us for explorations of nature as we study plants and animals
and observe the colors, shapes, textures, and sounds in the
Environmental Center’s forest habitat. Please come dressed for the
weather; all classes include an outdoor adventure. All children must
be walking and accompanied by an adult. Paths cannot accommodate
strollers. Maximum of two children per adult. All sessions are
limited to 10 children. Fee: $15 per child per session
Pre-registration HERE.
FOREST FRIENDS CLUB
Thursdays— January 16; February 13; March 20 4pm to 5pm
For children ages 5 through 10.
We’ll explore the forest using nets,
binoculars, magnifiers, and microscopes to investigate nature in our
wooded wetland habitat. Together we hope to foster an ethic of
stewardship and offer an opportunity to take part in hands-on
conservation projects. This is a drop-off and pick-up class (children
only). Fee: $15 per child per session
Pre-registration HERE.
S’MORES n’ MORE
Saturday, January 4 11am to 12:30pm
Wednesday, February 26 5:30pm to 7pm
For all ages.
Join an ECEC naturalist-guided short walk on the trails
and experience forest life in wintertime. Afterward, practice
fundamental fire skills and build a campfire in a safe and controlled
environment. Once we get our fire burning, we’ll roast marshmallows
and make s’mores. Fee: $12 per child and $15 per adult
 
Pre-registration HERE.
WILD ABOUT WILDLIFE
Tuesday, January 14 6pm to 7:30pm
For ages 6 and up.
Test your wildlife wisdom in a hands-on
exploration as you play games of inquiry to examine a variety of
skulls, tracks, furs, feathers, and scat! Compare and contrast form
and function, then discuss with a naturalist. All participants
make-and-take a clay animal track of their own. Fee:
$12 per child and $15 per adult
Pre-registration HERE.
MLK DAY: FOREST ANIMALS WINTER SURVIVAL – ONE DAY CAMP
Monday, January 20 9:30am to 3:30pm
For ages 6 to 10.
Campers explore our wooded wetland forests in
wintertime and enjoy stories, crafts, campfires and forest
adventures. In honor of this day of service, they also will
participate in stewardship activities on our outdoor campus, such as
making wildflower seed balls for the pollinators, removing invasive
vines to make winter wreaths, and caring for our bird feeders and
bird houses. Fee: $95 per child.
Pre-registration HERE.
OWL PELLET DISSECTION
Monday, January 27 5:30pm to 7pm
For ages 6 to 11.
Learn about these beautiful and mysterious silent
hunters of the night. Discover what they are eating by carefully
reconstructing the bones found inside owl pellets, while discussing
predators and prey and food chain dynamics. Advanced registration and
minimum number of participants required. Fee:
$12 per child
Pre-registration HERE.
ESSEX COUNTY BEEKEEPERS’ SOCIETY: BASIC BEEKEEPING:
3-DAY SHORT COURSE;
Saturdays, February 1 & 15, 8:30am to 4pm; Snow-day 3/15;
Field Day TBA
For adults and children ages 12 and older. This short course is
appropriate for new beekeepers, as well as those who need a
refresher. It is offered by the Essex County Beekeepers Society (http://ecbs.njbeekeepers.org/index.htm),
a branch of the New Jersey Beekeepers Association, and overseen by
EAS Certified Master Beekeeper Landi Simone. Successful completion of
this class fulfills the education requirement necessary to legally
keep bees in NJ. Classroom topics covered include: Honeybee Biology,
Beekeeping Equipment, Getting Started with Bees, Keeping Bees in
Populated Areas, Bee Plants, Seasonal Management, Honey Bee Pests and
Diseases, Harvesting Your Honey Crop, Queens, Queen Problems and
Re-Queening. Day 3, Field Day, takes place in apiaries in Montville
Township and provides students with an introduction to working with
the bees. Students will have the experience of opening and inspecting
a beehive themselves and obtain hands-on lessons in recognizing the
various components of a hive and colony as well as inspection basics
such as smoker lighting, protective gear, and correct use of the hive
tool. For information, contact registrar Justin Luna at Justin@GalacticGold.org.
Online registration is available at https://njbeekeepers.org/Education.htm.
Meet in Garibaldi Hall. Fee: $130, which includes all class
materials, continental breakfast, and afternoon snack. Scholarships
are available for students ages 12-22. Click here for
guidelines and application:
https://www.njbeekeepers.org/Education.htm
WINTER NATURE JOURNALING
Saturday, February 1 10am to 11:30am
For all ages.
Participants will experience winter discoveries through
hiking and bird watching, and explore the joy of phenology, the
cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena. From the outdoor explorations,
make nature journals and in them write and draw the forest findings.
Dress warmly for the weather. Advanced registration and minimum
number of participants required. Fee: $12 per child
and $15 per adult
Pre-registration HERE.
VALENTINES FAMILY WALK & CAMPFIRE
Tuesday, February 11 5:30pm to 7pm
For all ages.
Experience forest life at night and make birch bark
hearts and necklaces that double as fire-starters. We’ll build a
campfire, make s’mores, and enjoy fire-popped popcorn and mint tea or
hot chocolate. Dress warmly for the weather. Fee:
$15 per child and $20 per adult
Pre-registration HERE.
BUILD-A-BIRD HOUSE
Saturday, February 22 10:30am to 12pm
For all ages.
Join us to build a home that encourages breeding birds
and other wildlife to take residence. Putting out bird houses now
improves the chances of having a nesting pair of songbirds in gardens
by spring. Fee: $25 per birdhouse (2 people max per
birdhouse)
Pre-registration HERE.
Pre-registration and payment required either in
person, by mail or online at www.essexcountyparks.org/calendar
PLEASE NOTE: THERE ARE NO REFUNDS GIVEN FOR MISSED CLASSES
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