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The Clues Animals Leave Behind: Wildlife Tracking with Jess Applin
February 17 @ 10:00 am - 3:30 pm
Experienced tracker and HLT staff member, Jess Applin, will lead two 2.5 hour sessions of wildlife tracking and reading the landscape. Jess will take a small group along the trail network at Fare-Thee-Well in Huntington, home to four vernal pools and rich wildlife habitats. This activity will start with an introduction to basic animal track identification indoors and then will be led by Jess into the woods to learn about animal behavior, ecology, and habitat features.
Moving at the speed of the slowest member of the group, the group will go on and off trail between .5 and 2 miles, stopping to examine tracks. Depending on weather conditions, hikers will be provided with snowshoes or ice grippers to traverse the forested trails.
Attendees will uncover the greater story of the wildlife around us and gather the big-picture narrative by reading the landscape. After the session, the group will come together indoors to reflect on the experience around the fire and get cozy with warm beverages!
All ages are welcome to join this event! Due to the sensitive ecological nature of this event, we ask that you leave non-service dogs at home.
Choose from one of two 2.5-hour sessions.
Morning session: 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Afternoon session: 1:00 PM – 3:30 PM
The rain date for this event is Saturday, February 24th.
Jess Applin is currently the Land Conservation and Stewardship Manager at Hilltown Land Trust (HLT). Jess holds over ten years of tracking experience and has taught wildlife tracking ID in the past at HLT, The Nature Conservancy, and the Wild and Scenic Westfield River Committee. In addition to Jess’s involvement at HLT, she works with the Berkshire Wildlife Linkage. Jess will soon be celebrating their ten years of effort to increase conservation efforts of crucial parcels of land connecting wildlife across forests in Western Massachusetts.
See website for detailed accessibility information.
For questions and accommodation requests, please reach out to Juliette at juliette@hilltownlandtrust.org or (413) 628-4485.
The suggested donation for this program is $0-25. Your donation supports future programs like this at HLT. To become a member of Hilltown Land Trust for the year, make a gift in any amount to support our efforts to conserve and care for ecologically valuable land in the Hilltowns.
DATE: Saturday, February 17
TIME: 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM, and 1:00 PM – 3:30 PM
LOCATION: Fare-Thee-Well Wholeness Center, 153 Pond Brook Road, Huntington, MA
