Monday, May 16th

1:00PM

Homeschool Hike

 “A Vertical Map of the Forest: From below our feet to the tippy tops of trees”

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Join environmental educator Karrie McAllister from The Wilderness Center for a hike and a different type of mapping at WMP. While you walk through the woods, students will make their own vertical map of the forest as they learn about the different layers and how they interact to make a beautiful and interesting place. Feel free to come early and bring a picnic lunch before the program starts. Meet at the Education Area parking lot.

Sunday, June 26th
2:00 PM

Dragonflies & Damselflies 

Join a local naturalist on a hike in search of the colorful dragonflies and damselflies that inhabit the fields and streams of the park. Bring binoculars to get an up-close view of these enchanted insects.

Saturday, June 4th

1:30 PM

ADA Hike at the Kenwood

Join us for a leisurely stroll on the paved ADA Kenwood trail and learn about the acquisition and development of this property by the Friends of WMP. This hike is intended especially for those with disabilities and their caregivers.

Meet at the Kenwood parking area.

Sunday, June 12th

Sunday, July 10th

7:00PM-8:30PM

Forest Bathing

Thoreau may have called it "sauntering," we might just call it a slow, silent nature walk...but these days some call it forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku. Whatever we call it, we will be meeting to share this simple practice together. Research is beginning to show the health benefits of forest bathing for balancing our all-too-busy minds and bodies. For all those who love to shed stress on a hike, forest bathing takes the already-wonderful idea of hiking and slows it down, closer to the experience of opening all our senses and savoring each new awareness. When we forest bathe, rather than walk from point A to B, we travel a purposely-short distance in order to feel each footstep on the earth, breathe aromatic fragrances, listen to individual bird songs, ponder where a slug is heading, or brush a fern lightly and feel its delicate resilience. Through immersing ourselves in the environment, we might just reconnect with our innate sense of beauty, wonder, and belonging in the green world. This activity is planned for evening in order to experience the sunset as a traditional time of rest and turning inward, as the more-than-human world prepares to leave the day behind. Weather permitting, circle up afterward around the campfire to sit in peace or share a few thoughts if you choose.

Please bring chair or blanket to relax around the campfire.