Beginning Tuesday, February 7 the New Canaan Nature Center will host a winter farmer’s market on Tuesdays from Noon to 3:00pm. The market is open to the public and will feature winter produce, dairy, meat, baked goods and other sundries from a number of Connecticut based vendors. Expected vendors include Riverbank Farm, Gazy Brothers Farm, Goatboy Soaps, Butterfield Farm, Smyth’s Trinity Farm, Mamacat’s Tea, Raus Coffee, Whistle Stop Bakery and Connecticutly Grown Hot Sauce. Come for lunch - homemade soup and sandwiches from Walter Stewart's Market!

The Winter Farmer’s Market, a joint partnership between the Nature Center and New Canaan Farmer’s Market, will be held as a pilot program for the month of February and will possibly be extended throughout the spring and to Saturday mornings.

The New Canaan Nature Center is hosting the 2nd annual Regional Environmental Educator Day. This is an opportunity for educators from Fairfield and Westchester counties to join togeter for learning and professional development.

Schedule of workshops led by regional experts include:
The Edible and Organic Garden As A Teaching Tool
Teaching With Animals
Field Geology
Coastal Ecology/Aquatic Education
Nature Programming with Preschools
Team Building and Low Ropes Course

For more information and to register contact Keith Marshall at Kmarshall@newcanaannature.org

Have you always wanted to grow healthy plants, vegetables and flowers from seed?  Come learn and work side-by-side in the Nature Center greenhouse with New Canaan’s veteran farmer Uncle Buck. 

The series consists of ten lessons/workshops over 13 weeks on choosing the right plants for your garden, seed propagation techniques, making and rooting cuttings, soil amendment, preparing your garden bed, transplanting tips, container gardening , insect/disease control and more.

You’ll work in the greenhouse to plant and raise your seedlings, learn to avoid and remedy common gardening pitfalls and benefit from expert guidance when the time comes to transfer seedlings into your own garden or Nature Center plots.
WEEKLY ATTENDANCE IS ENCOURAGED BUT NOT MANDATORY.
Click here for flyer & class schedule.

A special session for those interested in making syrup from maple trees in their own backyard! The Nature Center Syruping Team will teach how to identify sugar maples, when to tap your trees, pointers for monitoring sap flow and collecting sap, and techniques for the evaporation/boil down process. Learn about the history of this New England tradition, what syrup grades really mean, what causes sap to flow in winter and what commercial syrup grades really mean.

Educators will demonstrate every step of the process so you can go home and get started right away! Each registered group will receive 3 spiles for tree tapping from Tap My Trees (www.tapmytrees.com).

Recent area sightings of mountain lions (or cougars), and their seeming "comeback" in the region have generated questions and controversy. Come learn all about the secretive big cat from Bill Betty, a mountain lion lecturer and advocate. Betty is a knowledgeable and fascinating speaker with more than a dozen personal sightings and close encounters in the last thirty-seven years with one of America's shiest and most fascinating animals. In his PowerPoint presentation, Betty will show sighting photographs from Colorado to Connecticut, and cover all aspects of mountain lion behavior, from reproduction to predation, from life span to habituation. He will discuss where and when to look for mountain lions locally and how to collect evidence. Many show-and-tell items, such as a skull, tracking maps, a motion-detection camera, cougar lures, scat samples, and various books and pamphlets, will be available for the public to examine.

Children 8 & up welcome with an adult.

Join us for a volunteer PITCH IN DAY! Help revitalize the Greenhouse while meeting other volunteers. We will be cleaning plant leaves, repotting and refreshing.

Please wear clothing appropriate for working with plants in a warm greenhouse (layered clothing and non-slip shoes recommended). Garden gloves and tools will be provided. (Volunteers under age 14 must be accompanied by an adult).

The course introduces terminology, concepts, and basic design principles relating to the shaping of landscape space. Compositional ideas, abstract and concrete, are explored and expressed through lectures and simple two-dimensional exercises. This course is recommended for students with little or no background in design.

Emily Kelting
123LAN100 Section D

Become skilled at retrieving your images. Learn methods of processing, organizing, and managing your photos. Explore proper naming, filing, organizing, printing, Web site usage, and e-mailing of images. Basic image control, enhancement, alteration, sizing, cropping, and rotation are demonstrated. Prerequisite: Experience taking photos with a digital camera. Bringing a digital camera to class is optional.

Donald Gambino
123GWP123 Section B

Just taking pictures with a digital camera is one thing, but achieving great results can be a challenge. Take a "tour" of the instructor's best and worst shots, and learn what made these photographs worth taking, what to avoid, and what to pursue in capturing a memorable image.

Donald Gambino
123GWP151 Section B

Hands-on is the best way to learn any physical skill, and fruit tree pruning is no exception. Pruning techniques, with an emphasis on fruit production, are discussed and demonstrated on-site. Try some supervised pruning yourself. Learn about corrective pruning of neglected and poorly managed trees and techniques for effective training of young trees. Several kinds of fruit trees are discussed. Please dress for the weather and wear eye protection. Please bring lunch.

Steven McKay
123GAR905 Section A

Gain the basic skills and knowledge needed for successful cultivation of perennials in a variety of garden settings. Topics include site selection, soil preparation, tools and planting techniques, maintenance practices, plant selection, landscape use, and design basics. Please bring lunch.

Michael Ruggiero
123GAR231 Section B

Soil is the very foundation of sustainable horticulture and agriculture. This course focuses on the texture, structure, density, and color of different soils and the dynamic relationship that exists among soil, water, and plants. Learn irrigation and drainage techniques and explore the importance of soil organic matter and microbiology in relationship to plant health and soil conservation.

David Bulpitt
HRT 301 Section A
Classroom Hours: 18

Fee includes materials.

Explore the basic principles underlying good gardening, including the structure and physiological processes of plants and their relationships to the environments in which they grow. You learn not only what to do, but why! Topics include soils and their improvement, seed sowing, vegetative propagation, planting, pruning, watering, weeding, mulching, shading, ventilation, and disease and pest control.

Daryl Beyers
124GAR301 Section B
Classroom Hours: 12

The kitchen garden or potager is back. Learn the difference between cool and warm season crops and methods of growing from seed: selecting, germinating, and transplanting. Discuss techniques of raised-bed gardening and vegetable gardening to use in your own garden. Learn about proper planting and maintenance that will lead to a bountiful harvest. Please bring lunch.

Fee include materials.