Announcing the Meade Cadot Land Conservation Fund

We are excited to announce that we are halfway to our goal of raising $500,000 for the new Meade Cadot Land Conservation Fund!  This fund is a tribute to the extraordinary career of Meade Cadot, who “retired” from the Harris Center this past winter.  (We are grateful that Meade will continue to work on special projects as the Harris Center’s first Naturalist Emeritus.)  Meade served as Director of the Harris Center for 37 years and was responsible for creating the 20,000-acre Supersanctuary, a network of conserved lands spanning seven towns in the Monadnock Region.

The purpose of the Meade Cadot Land Conservation Fund is to honor Meade by permanently enhancing the Harris Center’s ability to protect and steward land.  For more information, including a more detailed description of the fund and a pledge form, please visit the Meade Cadot Fund webpage or contact Jeremy Wilson at wilson@harriscenter.org or (603) 525-3394.

Birding and Photography: The Best of Both Worlds on May 19

Don and Lillian Stokes, Hancock residents and best-selling authors, will teach you how to better identify birds and improve your bird photography, no matter what your experience level, during “Birding and Photography: The Best of Both Worlds” on Sunday, May 19 from 3 to 4:30 pm at the Harris Center.   This lively and informative talk, illustrated with Lillian’s bird photos, will be followed by a book signing of their newest pair of books, The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region and Western Region.

The Stokes have been prolific writers and award-winning educators for over 30 years.  The Stokes Field Guide To The Birds of North America is the most complete photographic guide to birds ever published and contains over 3,400 stunning photos, many taken by Lillian.  Don and Lillian were also the creators, producers, and hosts of the PBS television series Stokes Birds at Home, which was seen by 40 million viewers.

For more information, contact Eric Masterson at (603) 525-3394 or masterson@harriscenter.org. Cosponsored by the Harris Center and the Toadstool Bookstore.

White Mountain Wanderers Debuts This Summer

This summer, the Harris Center is offering a new hiking, camping, and citizen science adventure in the White Mountains for middle school kids (Grades 5 through 8).  From July 8 to 11, this small group of explorers will set up a base camp at Dolly Copp Campground in White Mountain National Forest and day hike nearby ridges, peaks, and streams.  They will also participate in the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Mountain Watch citizen science program by photographing bloom stages of mountain wildflowers.  Leaders Janet Altobello (Harris Center) and Carter Judkins (Peterborough Elementary School) have spent decades hiking the trails of White Mountain National Forest and climbed all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4000-foot peaks.  Altobello and Judkins agree, “We are very excited to share this experience with the next generation of hikers.  Roaming the White Mountain ridges and living outside makes us come alive!”

Registration is now open!  For more information on the White Mountain Wanderers or any of our other adventuresome summer programs for kids, please visit our Camp webpage.