Upcoming Events

February 2020

Sunday, February 2, 1-4 p.m.
Pre-Super Bowl Hike. Meet at Matthies Grove picnic area (main entrance to Peoples SF, East River Road, Barkhamsted) and we’ll work up an appetite for watching football. Refreshments will follow at Squire’s Tavern. Free and open to all.

Sunday, February 23rd, 1-4 p.m.
Signs in the Forest. Join DEEP Wildlife Biologist, Peter Picone on a wildlife talk/hike through Peoples State Forest. Some of this hike will be off-trail bushwhacking. Read what signs forest wildlife leave behind and learn about their habitats and survival techniques. What do they eat? Where do they hide? What track is that? Meet at Matthies Grove picnic area (main entrance to Peoples SF, East River Road, Barkhamsted). Refreshments to follow. Free and open to all.

March 2020

Sunday, March 15th, 4-5:30 p.m.
Maple Sugaring: Keeping it Real in New England, Barkhamsted Community Room, 33 New Hartford Road (rt. 44) by the Town Garage.

Join David K. Leff for a slide-illustrated talk about maple sugaring. Explore the mysteries and mystique of maple sugaring and meet the dedicated, sometimes quirky folks who make it. Find out how this ancient northeastern North American product was discovered and the high-tech techniques it takes to produce it today. Are sugar-makers the canary in the coal mine for climate change?  Why do some people think maple syrup is the next miracle food? Learn how you can make and enjoy your own syrup. As a former sugar-maker and Board member of the Connecticut Maple Syrup Producers Association, David will give you an insider’s view. His book, Maple Sugaring: Keeping it Real in New England, will be available for sale and signing. 

For more about the book Maple Sugaring: Keeping it Real in New England go to: https://davidkleff.typepad.com/home/2015/09/maple-sugaring.html

Sunday, March 29th, 2:30-4 p.m.
How to Coexist with Bears in our Midst: The Facts, the Myths, the Reality, Squire’s Tavern, 106 East River Road, Barkhamsted, CT

Join Ginny Apple, a FALPS Board Member and Master Wildlife Conservationist with the State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), as she talks about black bears, focusing on the natural history of black bears in Connecticut, including some bears in American Legion and Peoples State Forests, and an overview of black bear habitat, diet, behavior, reproduction and current research efforts. She also provides practical recommendations for optimum coexistence with our black bear population and her personal observations on CT Black Bears.

FALPS VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:

Past Events

  • Mat Jobin of “Reach Your Summit” guide service – Hike
  • First Day Hike
  • Booth at the Riverton Fair
  • Erik Landgraf and poet David Leff hike through Peoples State Forest
  • Annual Before Thanksgiving Holiday Hike
  • Make your own walking sticks with decorations to go with them
  • Friday Night at the Pavilion Civilian Conservation Corps & Youth Conservation Corps program
  • Full Moon Night Hike 
  • Group hike with Jim Starble
  • Nature Photography Workshop with Paul Edwards
  • “Learn to Bird” hike with John Weeks
  • “Vernal Pools” with James Arrigoni
  • Hike and Explore the forest from “Off the Beaten Trails” 
  • Wildflower Walk with Erik Landgraf
  • Bluebirds and monitoring Bluebird boxes with Master Wildlife Conservationist Fred Lowman
  • FALPS 2nd Annual St. Patrick’s Day hike with Paul“Hart to Hart”land
  • Native Vegetation Plantings for  Wildlife with DEEP Wildlife Biologist, Peter Picone
  • FALPS 2nd Annual Pre-Superbowl group hike with Ralph Scarpino
  • Winter Tree Identification with Master Naturalist, Lynn Kochiss
  • FALPS Pine Cone Ornament Craft and Holiday Nature Gift Wrapping
  • Christmas in Riverton FALPS walking stick crafting activity
  • Hawk Watch with John Weeks
  • Friday Night at the Pavilion
  • FALPS 4th Annual Meeting
  • “S’mores, Meteors and Tales”–About 10 hardy, adventurous souls turned out for our event, S’mores, Meteors and Tales, last night, Saturday, August 11th. What a blast we had learning about meteors, swapping stories and eating s’mores! Meteors, no doubt, were up there in the sky streaking by, but blocked by clouds. Thanks to Shaw from, “The Lakeville Journal” for stopping by! FALPS Friday Night at the Pavilion Civilian Conservation Corps & Youth Conservation Corps program,
  • FALPS Full Moon Night Hike 
  • Group Hike with Jim Starble
  • Nature Photography Workshop with Paul Edwards
  • “Learn to Bird” Hike with John Weeks
  • “Vernal Pools” with James Arrigoni
  • Hike and Explore the Forest from “Off the Beaten Trails” 
  • Wildflower Walk with Erik Landgraf
  • Bluebirds and monitoring Bluebird boxes with Master Wildlife Conservationist Fred Lowman
  • FALPS 2nd Annual St. Patrick’s Day hike with Paul “Hart to Hart”land
  • Native Vegetation Plantings for  Wildlife with DEEP Wildlife Biologist, Peter Picone
  • FALPS 2nd Annual Pre-Superbowl group hike with Ralph Scarpino
  • Winter Tree Identification with Master Naturalist, Lynn Kochiss
  • FALPS Pine Cone Ornament Craft and Holiday Nature Gift Wrapping
  • Christmas in Riverton FALPS walking stick crafting activity
  • Hawk Watch with John Weeks
  • Friday Night at the Pavilion
  • FALPS 4th Annual Meeting
  • “S’mores, Meteors and Tales”–About 10 hardy, adventurous souls turned out for our event, S’mores, Meteors and Tales, last night, Saturday, August 11th. What a blast we had learning about meteors, swapping stories and eating s’mores! Meteors, no doubt, were up there in the sky streaking by, but blocked by clouds. Thanks to Shaw from, “The Lakeville Journal” for stopping by!