2026 Volunteer Field Season Kick-Off
2026-03-14 09:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | The Nan and George Mathey Center for People and Nature at Burley Farms, 247 North River Road, Epping, NH, 03042, United States
Join SELT’s Volunteer Program Staff at The Nan and George Mathey Center for People and Nature on Saturday, March 14 from 9:00 am to noon for the fourth annual Volunteer Field Season Kickoff!
The Kickoff will give volunteers a chance to meet SELT staff and other volunteers, and learn about some of the ways to volunteer with SELT. After light refreshments we’ll do a group icebreaker, then split into groups for three rotating training sessions. We’ll finish up with a review of the volunteer portal and time tracking sheet, with time for questions. This event is open to anyone interested in volunteering with SELT, so feel free to share this information with your friends and bring them along!
Field Season Kickoff Schedule

9:00 am – Arrival, coffee, networking
9:15 am – Welcome and icebreaker
9:30 am – Rotating training sessions (details TBD)
11:00 am – Volunteer program info and Q&A
12:00 – Event ends

REGISTER HERE

Little SELTies Storytime: Early Spring 1 of 2
2026-03-19 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 and/or winter play in Burley’s Backyard. This program is designed for children ages 0-5 and their caregivers. Storytimes for Early Spring will run on 3/19 & 4/2.

Registration Required: CLICK HERE

Forest Fridays at Piscassic Greenway - Spring 2026 Session 1 of 4
2026-03-20 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 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, or snow covered. The Spring Sessions of Forest Fridays at Piscassic Greenway will be held on 3/20, 4/24, 5/15, and 6/5.
This series is intended for kids aged 0-5 and their guardians.

Registration Required: CLICK HERE
Difficulty: Easy

A SELT Walk in Schafer Woods
2026-03-21 09:00 - 12:00 | Schafer Woods, Commerce Dr, Atkinson, NH, United States
Join experienced SELT hike leader Bill McClure for a monthly series of walks (or cross-country ski, or snowshoe excursions) throughout 2026.
UPDATE – Due to conditions, this will be a walk and not a snowshoe.
Conditions permitting, in March, we will snowshoe on trails at Schafer Woods in Atkinson. This event is geared for hikers with some snowshoe experience and participants will need to bring their own snowshoes. More about Schafer woods can be found at https://seltnh.org/seltlands/schafer-woods/
The route will be determined in advance and shared with participants roughly three days prior to the event. If the conditions are not ideal for a snowshoe, this event will still proceed as a late winter/early spring hike.
This event is limited to 15 participants.

Registration Required: CLICK HERE
Difficulty – 🥾 🥾 (out of 3)

Reading Rural Landscapes with Dr. Rob Sanford
2026-03-25 17:15 - 18:30 | 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 an active engagement PowerPoint presentation on viewing and interpreting common local rural environmental features that provide clues to our historical past. Ordinary landscapes can reveal what happened in the past. So, we will not be dealing with the exotic, just what you might expect to see around your own homes. You can follow up these clues with historical research, oral interviews and field work. But sometimes it is fun to just look around and see what we see on a walk. Time and weather permitting, we will go outside after and see what our setting at Burley Farms happens to say.
Rob Sanford is a Registered Professional Archaeologist and a Professor Emeritus of Environmental Science & Policy at the University of Southern Maine. His books include Reading Rural Landscapes, River Voices: Perspectives on the Presumpscot, and Cultural Resources Archaeology.
Registration Required: CLICK HERE

Little SELTies Storytime: Early Spring 2 of 2
2026-04-02 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
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 and/or spring play in Burley’s Backyard. This program is designed for children ages 0-5 and their caregivers. Storytimes for early spring will run on 3/19 & 4/2.

Registration Required: CLICK HERE

A SELT Walk in the Woods at Burley Farms
2026-04-06 09:00 - 12:00 | The Nan and George Mathey Center for People and Nature at Burley Farms, 247 North River Road, Epping, NH, 03042, United States
** DATE CHANGE – now April 6 (was April 7) **
Join experienced SELT hike leader Bill McClure for a monthly series of walks throughout 2026.
In April, we will hike on trails at Burley Farms (home of The Mathey Center – SELT’s headquarters) in Epping. More about Burley Farms can be found at https://seltnh.org/seltlands/burleyfarms/
The route will be determined in advance and shared with participants two to three days prior to the event. This event is limited to 15 participants.

Registration Required: CLICK HERE
Difficulty – 🥾 (out of 3) The trails at Burley Farms go over uneven terrain. The hike will last approximately 3 hours and cover between 3 to 5 miles.

Forest Fridays with Four Winds Nature Institute - Spring 2026 Session 1 of 3
2026-04-10 10:00 - 12:00 | Stonehouse Forest
Meet us at Stonehouse Forest for a kid-led nature exploration as part of our Forest Friday series. This series will be led by nature-based educator 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 Stonehouse Forest in Barrington will be 4/10 and 5/8 and at Leighton Forest in Strafford/Barrington on 5/22.

Registration Required: CLICK HERE
Difficulty: Easy

16th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival
2026-04-17 19:00 - 21:00 | The Music Hall, Portsmouth, NH, United States
You’re invited for a blockbuster slate of nature-themed films filled with breathtaking cinematography, unforgettable characters (human and wildlife alike!), and entertaining and inspiring storytelling. Attendees of all ages can expect award-winning short films about nature, outdoor adventure, conservation, wildlife, environmental issues, agriculture, and more!
SELT’s volunteer film committee has hand-picked a program from the award-winning films curated by the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) and national Wild & Scenic Film Festival and we cannot wait to share it with you!
Click here to buy your tickets!

Dover Pottery Studio at SELT - April 2026
2026-04-22 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
* THIS EVENT IS AT CAPACITY * Please feel free to reach out to register@seltnh.org to inquiry about a waitlist.
Join and 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 Bird Feeder using a variety of hand-building and clay construction techniques. This session is designed for all skill levels. After the session, our 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 $65 to cover material costs and glazing.

Registration and payment required in advance: CLICK HERE

Little SELTies Storytime: Spring 2026 Session 1 of 2
2026-04-23 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 and/or spring play in Burley’s Backyard. This program is designed for children ages 0-5 and their caregivers. Storytimes for spring 2026 will run on 4/23 & 5/7.

Registration Required: CLICK HERE

Forest Fridays at Piscassic Greenway - Spring 2026 Session 2 of 4
2026-04-24 10:00 - 12:00 | Piscassic Greenway

OTTO Pizza Fundraiser for SELT at their Portsmouth location
2026-04-27 11:00 - 22:00 | OTTO Pizza Portsmouth, 110 Brewery Ln, Portsmouth, 03801, United States
Come to OTTO Pizza in Portsmouth on April 27th 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/

Birding at Tucker & French Family Forest - May 2026
2026-05-05 06:30 - 09:00 | Tucker & French Family Forest
Birders everywhere look forward to spring when migratory birds head north to their breeding grounds in droves, bringing a beautiful diversity of species through our very own backyard! Join birding enthusiast & SELT Board Member Roger Stephenson as he ventures out in the wee hours of the morning to see who’s passing through. The best way to learn your birds by sight and sound is with experienced birders! This BYOB (bring your own binoculars) walk will be fun for all skill levels!
This trip is limited to 15 participants.

Registration Required – CLICK HERE
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate

What’s Wild in New Hampshire with Eric Orff
2026-05-06 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
Join us on Wednesday, May 6th at the Mathey Center in Epping for an inspiring presentation by Eric Orff that will teach us about the “wild” right here in New Hampshire, and how to better appreciate and protect it.
As the state’s first bear biologist in the 1970s, Eric Orff began a half-century career as a “forest ranger who works with animals,” his stated dream job as a 7-year-old. With more than thirty-one years at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department and another fifteen years with the National Wildlife Federation, Eric still publishes a video blog called “What’s Wild in New Hampshire” that regularly receives hundreds of thousands of views each week.
Eric’s career has spanned much more than bears; he has been called to work with White-tailed Deer, bats in a laundry room, snakes in a bathroom, and more. Journey with Eric through his childhood fishing expeditions, “eeling” mishaps, and dancing with fire in the field. Don’t miss a chance to learn about Eric’s entertaining and inspiring stories as a wildlife biologist. After the event, the book will be available for purchase and signing.
Registration Required: CLICK HERE

Little SELTies Storytime: Spring 2026 Session 2 of 2
2026-05-07 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 with Four Winds Nature Institute - Spring 2026 Session 2 of 3
2026-05-08 10:00 - 12:00 | Stonehouse Forest

Spring Birds, Bugs, and Plants Walk
2026-05-12 08:00 - 11:00 | Spruce Swamp Conservation Area, Fremont, NH, United States
Join avid birder and expert bug enthusiast Steve Mirick for a spring bird, bugs, and plants walk through Spruce Swamp Conservation Area. This walk will start at the end of Andreski Drive in Fremont. Participants should wear appropriate footwear, be prepared for wet trails and bring insect repellent and binoculars.
This field trip is limited to 20 participants.

Registration Required: CLICK HERE

Forest Fridays at Piscassic Greenway - Spring 2026 Session 3 of 4
2026-05-15 10:00 - 12:00 | Piscassic Greenway

A SELT Walk in the Woods at Collins Family Forest
2026-05-19 09:00 - 12:00 | Collins Family Forest, North Shore Road, New Durham, NH, United States
Join experienced SELT hike leader Bill McClure for a monthly series of walks throughout 2026.
In May, we will hike on trails at Collins Family Forest in New Durham. More about Collins Family Forest can be found by CLICKING HERE. The route will be determined in advance and shared with participants two to three days prior to the event. This event is limited to 15 participants.

Registration required: CLICK HERE
Difficulty – 🥾🥾1/2 (out of 3) The trails at Collins go over uneven and steep terrain (including Mt Molly). The hike will last approximately 3 hours and will cover between 4 to 6 miles.

Forest Fridays with Four Winds Nature Institute - Spring 2026 Session 3 of 3
2026-05-22 10:00 - 12:00 | Leighton Forest, Strafford, United States
Meet us at Leighton Forest for a kid-led nature exploration as part of our Forest Friday series. This series will be led by nature-based educator 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 Stonehouse Forest in Barrington will be 4/10 and 5/8 and at Leighton Forest in Strafford/Barrington on 5/22.

Registration Required: CLICK HERE
Difficulty: Easy

Forest Fridays at Piscassic Greenway - Spring 2026 Session 4 of 4
2026-06-05 10:00 - 12:00 | Piscassic Greenway

SELTie Book Club - Spring 2026
2026-06-17 17:30 - 19:30 | 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 continues! The book selection this time around will be An Immense World by Ed Yong and the discussion on June 17 will be led by Vicki Brown who recommended the book during a previous book club discussion. Light refreshments will be provided.
The Earth teems with sights and textures, sounds and vibrations, smells and tastes, electric and magnetic fields. But every kind of animal, including humans, is enclosed within its own unique sensory bubble, perceiving but a tiny sliver of our immense world.
In An Immense World, Ed Yong coaxes us beyond the confines of our own senses, allowing us to perceive the skeins of scent, waves of electromagnetism, and pulses of pressure that surround us. We encounter beetles that are drawn to fires, turtles that can track the Earth’s magnetic fields, fish that fill rivers with electrical messages, and even humans who wield sonar like bats. We discover that a crocodile’s scaly face is as sensitive as a lover’s fingertips, that the eyes of a giant squid evolved to see sparkling whales, that plants thrum with the inaudible songs of courting bugs, and that even simple scallops have complex vision. We learn what bees see in flowers, what songbirds hear in their tunes, and what dogs smell on the street. We listen to stories of pivotal discoveries in the field, while looking ahead at the many mysteries that remain unsolved.
Funny, rigorous, and suffused with the joy of discovery, An Immense World takes us on what Marcel Proust called “the only true voyage . . . not to visit strange lands, but to possess other eyes.”

Registration Required: CLICK HERE
