SELT

Forest Fridays at Birch Ridge with Four Winds Nature Institute - Spring Session 5
2025-06-13 10:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | Birch Ridge Community Forest
Meet us at the parking lot at the end of Birch Hill Road for a kid-led nature exploration as part of our Forest Friday series. This series will be led by nature-based educators Karly Wilcox and Sara DeSerres from Four Winds Nature Institute. We will offer supervised kid-led adventure and unstructured outdoor play for kids aged 0-5 and their guardians. This series will take place rain or shine – be sure to dress appropriately for the weather, you’ll want to be comfortable being still or muddy. The dates of the Spring Session of Forest Fridays at Birch Ridge Community Forest will be 4/11, 4/25, 5/9, 5/23, & 6/13.
This series is intended for kids aged 0-5 and their guardians.

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Registration Required: CLICK HERE

More about Four Winds Nature Institute can be found at www.fwni.org.

2025 Annual Meeting and Conservation Celebration
2025-06-14 16:00 - 19:00 | Burley Farms, 247 N. River Road, Epping, NH, 03042, United States
Join us to celebrate another year of saving, sharing, stewarding, and sustaining the lands we love!
Enjoy a catered buffet featuring locally sourced food from SELT conserved farms and a cash bar stocked with local brews followed by a presentation honoring our partners in conservation. We will also recognize the recipients of the Jack Heath Award for Conservationist of the Year, the Ashton Hallett Award for Exemplary Stewardship of the Land, and the Founders’ Award for Volunteerism.
REGISTER HERE!

4:00 pm
Event begins
Mathey Center open for self-guided tours
4:15 pm
Guided property tours
Guests have the option to join a short walk to Nan’s bench to take in the view, or a longer walk around Burley Farms (bring your boots!)
5:00 pm
Dinner and awards presentation

Summer Solstice Yoga Hike
2025-06-20 18:00 - 20:00 | Stonehouse Forest
Join avid hiker and 500 Hour Registered Yoga Instructor Venera Gattonini for a Summer Solstice Yoga Hike! Participants will hike through beautiful Stonehouse Forest up to the cliff looking over Stonehouse Pond. At the lookout, Venera will lead the group through a meditative yoga session in celebration of the Summer Solstice. The group will then use the light from the longest day of the year to hike out of the forest.
More about Venera: Venera Gattonini has also been a middle school and high school teacher (Woodworking and Art) for the last 20 years. For the last nine years she has been teaching mindfulness in the classroom. In the last three years she has been teaching yoga and mindfulness in the woods, in yoga studios and at UNH, at the Chase Children’s home, and leading small group mindfulness workshops. Venera is certified in Wilderness First Aid, CPR, and AED.
“I’m a joyful spirit, an outdoor enthusiast, an avid hiker, an adventurer, an artist, a woodworking and art teacher, a dream nurturer and people lover. We are all one. I look forward to your presence and to co-creating a joyful and nurturing environment where you can be confident that you will be encouraged and supported when you step out of your comfort zone on or off the mat.” – Venera
This program is for people ages 14 and up with some hiking and/or yoga experience.

Difficulty: Moderate
Registration required: CLICK HERE

Watershed Walk at DeYoung-Fralic Conservation Area
2025-06-25 17:00 - 18:30 | DeYoung-Fralic Conservation Area, Brentwood
Join us to learn about the connection between land conservation and water protection while enjoying this high-ranking wildlife habitat. A conservation priority of Brentwood for many years because of its risk for development, the DeYoung-Fralic property was acquired by SELT in 2017. It consists of 105 acres and 3,700 feet of pristine river-frontage along the Exeter River. The site was a former gravel pit that had been closed by Brentwood but was restored for wildlife habitat. The area provides valuable water protection and a wildlife corridor as well as includes priority focus areas for local, state, and federally-protected bodies of water. This walk will be led by forester Phil Auger with an anticipated length of approximately 1.5 miles.
This is part of the Great Bay Changemaker Program’s Watershed Walks series.

Difficulty: Moderate
Registration Required: CLICK HERE

Piscassic Greenway Historical Hike
2025-07-02 17:30 - 20:00 | NH
**NEW DATE – This event was originally planned for June 17th but was postponed due to weather **
The Piscassic Greenway is full of New Hampshire history. Forester Phil Auger has spent several years researching and studying this history. Join Phil for an engaging historical tour of this gem of the seacoast including some recent work to fix up the Bennett Cemetery. Feel free to also bring along a sandwich/dinner for a short picnic during the hike.

Difficulty: Moderate
Registration Required: CLICK HERE

Raptors Rule! with Tailwinds
2025-07-09 17:30 - 18:30 | The Nan and George Mathey Center for People and Nature at Burley Farms, 247 North River Road, Epping, NH, 03042, United States
Discover the fascinating world of raptors. Tailwinds: Raptor Education and Conservation will introduce you to three live raptor ambassadors. You’ll enjoy a talk about their unique characteristics, adaptations, and importance to our ecosystem. Learn how we can help them thrive.
More information about Tailwinds: Raptor Education and Conservation can be found at https://tailwinds.live/

Registration Required: CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Estuary Kayak Exploration with Seven Rivers Paddling & SELT *At Capacity*
2025-07-25 10:00 - 12:30 | Seven Rivers Paddling, 185 Wentworth Rd, Portsmouth, NH, 03801, United States
This event is at capacity and registration is closed.
Join SELT and our friends at Seven Rivers Paddling as we team up for some estuary exploration. Seven Rivers is offering an immersive kayaking experience in the diverse ecosystem of the tidal salt marshes of Odiorne Point. The total cost is $20 per person and all equipment is included. A separate Seven Rivers waiver and registration link will be sent after registering through SELT. Payment for the tour should be made using the Seven Rivers registration link.

Difficulty: Moderate
2 Registrations Required (through SELT and through Seven Rivers Paddling): CLICK HERE

Watershed Walk at Tucker & French Family Forest
2025-08-06 17:00 - 18:30 | Tucker & French Family Forest
Explore the Tucker and French Family Forest, a 563-acre landscape rich in ecological diversity. Spanning parts of Kingston, Danville, and Brentwood, this area boasts the highest concentration of natural resource values in the region. Discover upland forests, shrublands, wetlands, vernal pools, and beaver habitats—alongside streams and the adjacent Little River, supporting waterfowl, turtles, and more. Ernie Landry, the SELT volunteer property steward, will lead this walk.
This is part of the Great Bay Changemaker Program’s Watershed Walks series.

Difficulty: Moderate
Registration Required: CLICK HERE

An Introduction to the New Hampshire Veterinary Center for Wildlife
2025-08-13 17:30 - 18:30 | The Nan and George Mathey Center for People and Nature at Burley Farms, 247 North River Road, Epping, NH, 03042, United States
In recent decades, increased human-wildlife interactions have led to an increased need for wildlife rehabilitation and veterinary care in New Hampshire and beyond. At the same time, many NH-licensed wildlife rehabilitators have retired, and on-the-job wildlife training for veterinarians is decreasing as veterinary colleges outsource student wildlife training to private practitioners. Join Dr. Michael Dutton and Helen Dutton to learn about their plans for a new NH Veterinary Center for Wildlife, which aims to address these needs by providing a centralized site for veterinary care for injured wildlife in New Hampshire; on-site rehabilitation to minimize the stresses of transport; and training programs for wildlife rehabilitators, veterinarians, and veterinary students and staff.

Registration Required: CLICK HERE
More information about the New Hampshire Veterinary Center for Wildlife can be found at nhwildlifecare.org

Mountain Biking at Harvey's Kennard Hill Forest
2025-08-21 17:00 - 19:00 | Harvey’s Kennard Hill Forest, Epping, New Hampshire
Join SELT’s Board President Brent Merriam and SELT’s Land Conservation Director Duane Hyde for a mountain biking field trip at Harvey’s Kennard Hill Forest in Epping. Both Brent and Duane are avid mountain bikers and are excited to showcase the trails at this 1,114 acre gem in the northwest corner of Epping. Duane will also share some history about this property along the way. This ride is for experienced mountain bikers ages 15 and up.

Registration required: CLICK HERE
Difficulty: Strenuous

Mt. Bet Hike
2025-08-22 09:00 - 12:00 | Mt Bet, New Durham & Alton, NH
Join Yohann Hanley, SELT’s Trails & Community Engagement Manager, and Derrick Trent, SELT’s Events & Outreach Specialist, as we explore the new trails at Mt. Bet. We will begin at the parking lot on Marsh Hill Road and proceed up to the summit to take in the view, then to the new section of trails beyond the summit, then to Chesley Road and back. The hike will be approximately 4 miles and includes strenuous uphill portions throughout. Also, please note, Marsh Hill Road is a bit rough and recommended for higher clearance cars.
This hike is limited to 15 participants.

Registration required: CLICK HERE
Difficulty: Strenuous

Pre-Harvest Forestry Tour at Piscassic Greenway
2025-08-25 17:00 - 19:00 | Piscassic Greenway
Join SELT’s Forest and Wildlife Habitat Manager Chad Fierros and consulting forester Charlie Moreno for a pre-harvest tour of Piscassic Greenway. Come see and hear about the upcoming forest management activities on approximately 60 acres of the Piscassic Greenway, accessed from Neal Mill Road.

Difficulty: Moderate
Registration Required: CLICK HERE

Stargazing at Burley Farms
2025-08-26 20:00 - 21:30 | Burley Farms, 247 N. River Road, Epping, NH, 03042, United States
Get an up-close view of galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters from SELT’s Burley Farms during an evening of guided astronomy on Tuesday, August 26 starting at 8pm.
If the 26th is forecast to be cloudy, the event will take place on Thursday August 28 at the same time. An email will be sent to the registrants to confirm the date.
Follow the red glow sticks from the parking lot to the observing area, but please do not use flashlights or flash photography as you approach the telescopes, to preserve guests’ night vision.
Bug repellent is recommended, and no dogs please.
Registration is limited to 25.

Registration Required: CLICK HERE

Little SELTies Storytime: Special Summer Garden Edition
2025-08-28 10:00 - 12:00 | The Nan and George Mathey Center for People and Nature at Burley Farms, 247 North River Road, Epping, NH, 03042, United States
We welcome our Little SELTies to join us for a morning of nature stories, songs, and activities in the Garden at Burley Farms. Led by SELT’s Education Program Manager, Lizzy Franceschini, we will hold the entire program outside in the garden. This program is designed for children ages 0-5 and their caregivers.

Registration required: CLICK HERE

Garden Wild Play
2025-09-05 10:00 - 12:00 | Burley Farms, 247 N. River Road, Epping, NH, 03042, United States
Join SELT’s Education Program Manager, Lizzy Franceschini, for a morning of wild play in the ATLAS Education Garden. Try out some farm chores, harvest and taste fresh vegetables, hang out in the sunflower fort, explore in the sensory corner, and simply have unstructured fun with friends outside. Open to children ages 0-8 with a caregiver present.

Registration Required: CLICK HERE

OTTO Pizza (Exeter) Fundraiser for SELT
2025-09-15 11:00 - 22:00 | OTTO Pizza Exeter, 33 Water Street, Exeter, NH, 03833, United States
Come to OTTO Pizza in Exeter on September 15th and enjoy their excellent pies and support SELT.OTTO was founded on the promise of an elevated pizza experience – transforming an oft-uninspired staple food through carefully-sourced, high-quality, wholesome ingredients, and culinary-inspired recipes.More about OTTO can be found at https://www.ottoportland.com/

Vermicomposting Tutorial
2025-09-16 17:30 - 18:30 | Burley Farms, 247 N. River Road, Epping, NH, 03042, United States
* THIS IS THE RESCHEDULED DATE (was originally June 18) *
🤔Does your home compost need an upgrade?🤔Have you been curious about a sustainable use for all those leftover vegetable scraps?🤔Are you a gardener or plant lover looking for a safe and effective alternative to chemical fertilizers? 🤔Have you heard of vermicomposting? 🤔
If these questions have you curious, then join us for a fun and informative discussion/demo by SELTie Jared Clark on his vermiculture hobby. Jared will talk about the benefits of vermiculture both to your garden and to the earth, how to get started with your own worm compost and his drawer system that he designed. He will be demonstrating his method of feeding the worms and harvesting castings from the self-contained worm bin as well as his process for making the compost “tea”. 🪱
This presentation will be indoors and outdoors, depending on the weather. We hope you join us for this fun, family-friendly event.

Registration Required: CLICK HERE

Forest Fridays at Piscassic Greenway: Early Fall 2025 (Session 1 of 3)
2025-09-19 10:00 - 12:00 | Piscassic Greenway
Meet us at the Piscassic Greenway Gate 2 for a kid-led nature exploration as part of our Forest Friday series. This series will be led by SELT volunteer Loralise LoDolce. We will offer supervised kid-led exploration and unstructured outdoor play for kids aged 0-5 and their guardians. This series will take place rain or shine – be sure to dress appropriately for the weather, you’ll want to be comfortable being still, muddy, and/or wet. The Early Fall Session of Forest Fridays at Piscassic Greenway will be held on 9/19, 10/3, and 10/17.
This series is intended for kids aged 0-5 and their guardians.

Difficulty: Easy
Registration Required: CLICK HERE

Dover Pottery Studio at SELT
2025-09-24 17:30 - 20:00 | The Nan and George Mathey Center for People and Nature at Burley Farms, 247 North River Road, Epping, NH, 03042, United States
Join us for a fun and unique experience making pottery at SELT. We will begin with a short 30-minute walk into the forest at Burley Farms to get natural items to use in making imprints on the pottery and then Kim Hanson, owner of The Dover Pottery Studio will lead a 2-hour pottery making session.
In this hands-on session, you’ll create your very own unique pottery creation using a variety of hand-building and clay construction techniques. This session is designed for all skill levels. After the session, Kim’s studio staff will glaze and fire your creations, making them ready for pick-up approximately four weeks after the workshop.
The event is limited to 20. The cost is $30 to cover material costs and glazing.

Registration Required: CLICK HERE

Little SELTies Storytime: Early Fall 2025 (Session 1 of 3)
2025-09-25 10:00 - 12:00 | The Nan and George Mathey Center for People and Nature at Burley Farms, 247 North River Road, Epping, NH, 03042, United States
We welcome our Little SELTies to join us for a morning of nature stories, songs, and activities in the Pratt Family Community Room at the Mathey Center at Burley Farms. Led by SELT’s Education Program Manager, Lizzy Franceschini, we will start our morning inside the community room with story time activities, then head outside for a short hike in the forest. This program is designed for children ages 0-5 and their caregivers. Storytimes for the early fall session will run on 9/25, 10/2, and 10/16.

Registration required: CLICK HERE

Fall Haul Trail Run with Treeline Outfitters at Stonehouse Forest
2025-09-26 16:00 - 17:30 | Stonehouse Forest
We are excited to partner with Treeline Outfitters for the Fall Haul Trail Run series this year. Join Treeline’s Emily Kwesell for a guided trail run in and around the magnificent forest at Stonehouse Forest. Expect to run around 4-6 miles at a conversational pace.
This is part 1 of 3 of this series. The other dates and locations include – 10/24 at Spruce Swamp and 11/14 at Harvey’s Kennard Hill Forest.

Registration Required – CLICK HERE
Difficulty: Strenuous (many hills and intended for runners with some trail running experience

Little SELTies Storytime: Early Fall 2025 (Session 2 of 3)
2025-10-02 10:00 - 12:00 | The Nan and George Mathey Center for People and Nature at Burley Farms, 247 North River Road, Epping, NH, 03042, United States

Forest Fridays at Piscassic Greenway: Early Fall 2025 (Session 2 of 3)
2025-10-03 10:00 - 12:00 | Piscassic Greenway

Supermoon Hike at Burley Farms
2025-10-06 17:00 - 19:00 | Burley Farms, 247 N. River Road, Epping, NH, 03042, United States
Let’s gather during the full Harvest Supermoon to amble over to the beaver dam and see what we will see. Hopefully, we’ll observe some beavers busy in and around the pond. We’ll appreciate a sunset and moonrise together at this special place. The rain date is October 7.

Registration Required: CLICK HERE
Difficulty: Moderate (some hills, tricky terrain in the dark)

SELTie Book Club - Fall 2025
2025-10-08 17:30 - 19:00 | The Nan and George Mathey Center for People and Nature at Burley Farms, 247 North River Road, Epping, NH, 03042, United States
The SELTie Book Club is back! The book selection this time around will be Is a River Alive? By Robet Macfarlane and the discussion on October 8 will be led by SELTie Roanne Robbins. Our goal is to also have some tie-in Mathey Center programming related to this book in November and December.
Hailed in the New York Times as “a naturalist who can unfurl a sentence with the breathless ease of a master angler,” Robert Macfarlane brings his glittering style to a profound work of travel writing, reportage, and natural history. Is a River Alive? is a joyful, mind-expanding exploration of an ancient, urgent idea: that rivers are living beings who should be recognized as such in imagination and law.
Macfarlane takes readers on three unforgettable journeys teeming with extraordinary people, stories, and places: to the miraculous cloud-forests and mountain streams of Ecuador, to the wounded creeks and lagoons of India, and to the spectacular wild rivers of Canada—imperiled respectively by mining, pollution, and dams. Braiding these journeys is the life story of the fragile chalk stream a mile from Macfarlane’s house, a stream who flows through his own years and days.
Powered by dazzling prose and lit throughout by other minds and voices, Is a River Alive? will open hearts, challenge perspectives, and remind us that our fate flows with that of rivers—and always has.
We encourage you to get your copy from Water Street Books in Exeter either in person or online waterstreetbooks.com.

Registration Required: CLICK HERE

Forest Fridays with Four Winds Nature Institute - Fall Session 1 (of 3)
2025-10-10 10:00 - 12:00 | Smith Flume, River Rd, Farmington, NH, United States
Meet us at the Smith Flume in Farmington for a kid-led nature exploration as part of our Forest Friday series. This series will be led by nature-based educators Karly Wilcox and Sara Deserres from Four Winds Nature Institute. We will offer supervised kid-led adventure and unstructured outdoor play for kids aged 0-5 and their guardians. This series will take place rain, snow, or shine – be sure to dress appropriately for the weather, you’ll want to be comfortable being still or muddy. The dates of the Fall Session of Forest Fridays at various Strafford County locations will be 10/10, 11/14, & 12/12.

Registration Required: CLICK HERE
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate (depending on the conditions)

Little SELTies Storytime: Early Fall 2025 (Session 3 of 3)
2025-10-16 10:00 - 12:00 | The Nan and George Mathey Center for People and Nature at Burley Farms, 247 North River Road, Epping, NH, 03042, United States

Forest Fridays at Piscassic Greenway: Early Fall 2025 (Session 3 of 3)
2025-10-17 10:00 - 12:00 | Piscassic Greenway

TrailFest 2025
2025-10-18 10:00 - 15:00 | Burley Farms, 247 N. River Road, Epping, NH, 03042, United States
The region’s biggest FREE family event filled with outdoor fun! Bring the crew to Burley Farms for food, music, activities, workshops, wildlife presentations, nature walks, and much, much more!

Ghosts of Mount Washington
2025-10-22 18:00 - 19:00 | The Nan and George Mathey Center for People and Nature at Burley Farms, 247 North River Road, Epping, NH, 03042, United States
We are excited to welcome back author Marianne O’Connor for some spooky season programming!
Come and listen to Marianne as she goes over some of the memorials on Mount Washington. Some of the actual memorials have some mysterious activity around them. Each memorial is a sad tale of tremendous loss. Marianne will share some stories related to “The Presence.” Some believe it’s a spiritual energy, maybe related to the many souls who lost their lives on the mountain. Marianne will talk about her trip on the Cog where she visited some of these moving memorials. The Cog Railway has an exhibit dedicated to Lizzie Bourne, the young woman from Maine who perished on the summit in 1855 (her memorial is pictured).
This program is recommended for ages 12 and up.

Registration Required: CLICK HERE

After the talk, there will be a short period of time for book signing. Marianne will have copies of her Haunted Hikes of New Hampshire book available for sale.
