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February 2020
WINTER IN THE WOODS: Kids’ Camp for Winter Vacation
February 18 & 19. 9am to 3pm. Winter Vacation Camp for children, grades 2 through 5. Come join our Winter-Break Day Camp for second through fifth graders. We'll explore the snowy woods, create wintry crafts and play! Merck Forest is a winter wonderland and you can come to camp for one day or both, from 9am to 3pm each day. Bring a bag lunch, water and snacks (we'll supply the hot chocolate!) and dress for outdoor play. Space is limited,…
Find out more »June 2020
Game of Logging, Levels 3 & 4
* * NEW DATES * * * Level 3 (6/27, 8am-4pm) focuses on limbing, bucking, and handling difficult trees. Level 4 (6/28, 8am-4pm) focuses on storm damage cleanup. These are field-based workshops and will be conducted in any weather conditions except for heavy snows, thunderstorms or high-wind conditions. Bring snacks, a bag lunch, water and a construction-type hard hat; be dressed for any weather conditions and wear sturdy work-boots. PLEASE NOTE: Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Enrollment…
Find out more »July 2020
Farm Chores for Children, 7/30/2020
$5 per person. Your registration must indicate how many people -- children AND adults -- are in your party. Children must be accompanied by at least one paid adult (except for day camp), and registration count and fee(s) must include EACH member of your party. Register HERE.
Find out more »August 2020
Meet and Feed, 8/2/2020
Sunday afternoons, June 7 through October 11 Join Merck staff on Sunday afternoons as they go about afternoon chores feeding our animals. Get to know our sheep, horses, chickens, and pigs during our daily routine. $5pp. Your registration must indicate how many people -- children AND adults -- are in your party. Children must be accompanied by at least one paid adult (except for day camp), and registration count and fee(s) must include EACH member of your party. Click HERE…
Find out more »Forest Day Camp (Session 2) for Rising 1st to 3rd Graders
Oh joy! Five days to explore farm, fields, forests, ponds, pools and streams, play games, and do craft projects! In our Forest Camp for rising first, second and third graders, we will explore, observe, splash around in, and learn about the ecosystems here. Children should be dressed for outdoor adventures and wet environments. They should bring a bag lunch (and perhaps a change of clothes?). Our woodland classroom -- the new yurt -- will be our forest base camp, and a…
Find out more »Farm Chores for Children, 8/6/2020
$5 per person. Your registration must indicate how many people -- children AND adults -- are in your party. Children must be accompanied by at least one paid adult (except for day camp), and registration count and fee(s) must include EACH member of your party. Register HERE.
Find out more »Second Saturday Hike, 8/08
A hike in the woods, with a staff member to point out special features of the terrain and habitat. Fabulous! Register Here.
Find out more »Meet and Feed, 8/9/2020
Sunday afternoons, June 7 through October 11 Join Merck staff on Sunday afternoons as they go about afternoon chores feeding our animals. Get to know our sheep, horses, chickens, and pigs during our daily routine. $5pp. Your registration must indicate how many people -- children AND adults -- are in your party. Children must be accompanied by at least one paid adult (except for day camp), and registration count and fee(s) must include EACH member of your party. Click HERE…
Find out more »Farm Chores for Children, 8/13/2020
$5 per person. Your registration must indicate how many people -- children AND adults -- are in your party. Children must be accompanied by at least one paid adult (except for day camp), and registration count and fee(s) must include EACH member of your party. Register HERE.
Find out more »Meet and Feed, 8/16/2020
Sunday afternoons, June 7 through October 11 Join Merck staff on Sunday afternoons as they go about afternoon chores feeding our animals. Get to know our sheep, horses, chickens, and pigs during our daily routine. $5pp. Your registration must indicate how many people -- children AND adults -- are in your party. Children must be accompanied by at least one paid adult (except for day camp), and registration count and fee(s) must include EACH member of your party. Click HERE…
Find out more »Meet and Feed, 8/23/2020
Sunday afternoons, June 7 through October 11 Join Merck staff on Sunday afternoons as they go about afternoon chores feeding our animals. Get to know our sheep, horses, chickens, and pigs during our daily routine. $5pp. Your registration must indicate how many people -- children AND adults -- are in your party. Children must be accompanied by at least one paid adult (except for day camp), and registration count and fee(s) must include EACH member of your party. Click HERE…
Find out more »Volunteer Work Party, 8/29
Calling all volunteers for a day of trail stewardship on Saturday, 8/29, 10am-3pm Love hiking at Merck Forest? We do too! This time of year, when everything green is still growing fast, we try and touch up sections of trail where they need it most. For this effort, we are looking for a crew of up to 12 folks willing to disperse to various parts of the property and address section of overgrown trail. Bring your hiking shoes and a…
Find out more »Meet and Feed, 8/30/2020
Sunday afternoons, June 7 through October 11 Join Merck staff on Sunday afternoons as they go about afternoon chores feeding our animals. Get to know our sheep, horses, chickens, and pigs during our daily routine. $5pp. Your registration must indicate how many people -- children AND adults -- are in your party. Children must be accompanied by at least one paid adult (except for day camp), and registration count and fee(s) must include EACH member of your party. Click HERE…
Find out more »September 2020
Merck Forest BioBlitz 2020
Join fellow naturalists of all experience levels at Merck Forest & Farmland Center for two days of exploration of everything natural across any of 3167 acres of forests, fields, and waters. From experts to novices, all curious minds are welcome. The goal of this BioBlitz is to document as much natural life as possible on Merck Forest property over the weekend. Participation is as easy as taking a photo and recording date, time, and location, and uploading to iNaturalist.org via…
Find out more »Game of Logging: Basic Chainsaw Safety for Women
Pre-Level 1 (9/12, 8am - 4pm, tuition $200 pp) This is a course for women who have no prior experience in handling a chainsaw. Topics include training in how a chainsaw operates, basic maintenance, and bucking techniques. It is excellent preparation for Levels 1 and 2, which will be offered in subsequent sessions. This is a field-based workshop and will be conducted in any weather conditions except for heavy snows, thunderstorms or high-wind conditions. Bring snacks, a bag lunch, water and…
Find out more »Game of Logging: Basic Chainsaw Safety
Basic/Pre-Level 1 (9/13, 8am - 4pm, tuition $200 pp). This is a course for people with no prior experience in handling a chainsaw. Topics include training in how a chainsaw operates, basic maintenance, and bucking techniques. It is excellent preparation for Levels 1 and 2, which will be offered in subsequent sessions. This is a field-based workshop and will be conducted in any weather conditions except for heavy snows, thunderstorms or high-wind conditions. Bring snacks, a bag lunch, water and a construction-type…
Find out more »Meet and Feed, 9/13/2020
Sunday afternoons, June 7 through October 11 Join Merck staff on Sunday afternoons as they go about afternoon chores feeding our animals. Get to know our sheep, horses, chickens, and pigs during our daily routine. $5pp. Your registration must indicate how many people -- children AND adults -- are in your party. Children must be accompanied by at least one paid adult (except for day camp), and registration count and fee(s) must include EACH member of your party. Click HERE…
Find out more »Game of Logging for Women: Levels 1 & 2
Level 1 (9/19, 8am-4pm) focuses on introducing the participant to precision felling techniques. Registration for this course is available to adults and to teenagers aged 16 and up (with parental permission). Level 2 (9/20, 8am-4pm) focuses on maximizing chainsaw performance. These are field-based workshops and will be conducted in any weather conditions except for heavy snows, thunderstorms or high-wind conditions. Bring snacks, a bag lunch, water and a construction-type hard hat; be dressed for any weather conditions and wear sturdy work-boots. PLEASE…
Find out more »Nature Journalling: Capturing the Natural World
A chance to explore, observe and document phenomena of the natural world, through the creation of a nature journal. Gather data as a citizen scientist! Bring a lunch along and enjoy Merck's scenery as we first delve into a discussion of the background and basic techniques of nature journaling. After lunch we'll work through a number of nature journaling exercises that you can use anywhere, as we use the Northern Taconic landscape to make observations and document our findings through…
Find out more »Meet and Feed, 9/20/2020
Sunday afternoons, June 7 through October 11 Join Merck staff on Sunday afternoons as they go about afternoon chores feeding our animals. Get to know our sheep, horses, chickens, and pigs during our daily routine. $5pp. Your registration must indicate how many people -- children AND adults -- are in your party. Children must be accompanied by at least one paid adult (except for day camp), and registration count and fee(s) must include EACH member of your party. Click HERE…
Find out more »Wilderness Wednesdays
A weekly exploration of the natural world for students in grades 4 – 6. Students will explore the landscape and document their journey through drawing and writing in nature journals. We’ll explore forests and woodland, dip in the pond, do some citizen science and collect data, all while having fun in the great outdoors. Activities align with the Next Generation Science Standards curricula. Enrollment is limited to 10 students. SESSION 1 DATES: September 23 & 30 and October 7 & 14, from…
Find out more »Game of Logging: Levels 1 & 2
Level 1 (9/26, 8am-4pm) focuses on introducing the participant to precision felling techniques. Registration for this course is available to adults and to teenagers aged 16 and up (with parental permission). Level 2 (9/27, 8am-4pm) focuses on maximizing chainsaw performance. These are field-based workshops and will be conducted in any weather conditions except for heavy snows, thunderstorms or high-wind conditions. Bring snacks, a bag lunch, water and a construction-type hard hat; be dressed for any weather conditions and wear sturdy work-boots. PLEASE…
Find out more »Volunteer Work Party, 9/26
A work party in the woods or on the farm -- what a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon! Register HERE.
Find out more »Meet and Feed, 9/27/2020
Sunday afternoons, June 7 through October 11 Join Merck staff on Sunday afternoons as they go about afternoon chores feeding our animals. Get to know our sheep, horses, chickens, and pigs during our daily routine. $5pp. Your registration must indicate how many people -- children AND adults -- are in your party. Children must be accompanied by at least one paid adult (except for day camp), and registration count and fee(s) must include EACH member of your party. Click HERE…
Find out more »October 2020
Meet and Feed, 10/04/2020
Sunday afternoons, June 7 through October 11 Join Merck staff on Sunday afternoons as they go about afternoon chores feeding our animals. Get to know our sheep, horses, chickens, and pigs during our daily routine. $5pp. Your registration must indicate how many people -- children AND adults -- are in your party. Children must be accompanied by at least one paid adult (except for day camp), and registration count and fee(s) must include EACH member of your party. Click HERE…
Find out more »Second Saturday Hike, 10/10/2020
A hike in the woods, with a staff member to point out special features of the terrain and habitat. Fabulous! Please register HERE.
Find out more »Meet and Feed, 10/11/2020
Sunday afternoons, June 7 through October 11 Join Merck staff on Sunday afternoons as they go about afternoon chores feeding our animals. Get to know our sheep, horses, chickens, and pigs during our daily routine. $5pp. Your registration must indicate how many people -- children AND adults -- are in your party. Children must be accompanied by at least one paid adult (except for day camp), and registration count and fee(s) must include EACH member of your party. Click HERE…
Find out more »