Forest Feeder Contest &
Winter
Public Programs
Essex County
Environmental Center
Click HERE to
view our Parks Calendar & Register Online Today!
Click
HERE for our
Winter Public Programs Brochure
Pre-registration HERE.
Pre-registration
HERE.
PLEASE NOTE:
THERE ARE NO REFUNDS GIVEN FOR MISSED CLASSES
Forest
Friends Feeder Contest
Registration
Deadline: Wednesday, December 11th
Project Drop-off:
Friday,
December 20th, by 5pm
For contest rules and to register, please click here.
FREE - Register Online HERE
For all ages. Create an edible, festive
and unique wetland wildlife feeder for our outdoor exhibit. The
purpose of this contest is to provide participants with a fun and
educational experience, evoking creativity, to make natural edible
treats for the center’s backyard forest friends. Add to a winter’s
bounty by registering for this contest and submitting a forest feeder
for our forest friends to enjoy! All contest entries will be
displayed for one week (or for as long as the wildlife will allow)
during the winter holiday and will be voted on by a panel of
eco-experts! Grand prizes are awarded to entries that place 1st in
all categories; 2nd and 3rd place entries will be recognized with a
plaque, certificate and a small gift from the Environmental
Center. FREE
- Register Online HERE
FOREST
FRIENDS FEEDER WORKSHOP
Thursday,
December 19, 4pm to 6pm
For all ages.
Join Center staff to create an edible, festive and unique wildlife
feeder to be on display in an outdoor exhibit for ECEC’s forest
friends to enjoy! Some materials are provided, and it is encouraged
to bring items, most especially – creativity! All participants will
have the option for their project to be entered into our Forest
Friends Feeder Contest. Prizes awarded. Fee: $12 per child, $15 per
adult
Pre-registration HERE.
LITTLE
EXPLORERS
Mondays—December
9, 16; 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—December
19; 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.
WINTER
WILDLIFE EXPLORERS CAMP
Monday,
December 23; 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. Please Note: There is a $25 non-refundable deposit for
one-day camps
Pre-registration HERE.
Have you aged
out of camp but want to volunteer?
Click Here for our Volunteer
Application (Ages 15+ only)
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.
Have you aged
out of camp but want to volunteer?
Click Here for our Volunteer
Application (Ages 15+ only)
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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