Woodcock Nature Center

Renovations Underway

admin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:43:42 +0000

Beginning February 13, some renovations will begin at our Nature Center building. Programs will continue as planned, but in the Staff House and in our Pavilion. The animals will be in the staff house so please come and visit! Our hours remain the same and as always, our trails are open for walking, cross country skiing and bird watching.

New Programs for Spring

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:15:48 +0000

Woodcock Nature Center is offering some new classes for children this spring.

Fireside Stories: February 12, 26; March 5 and 19; 1-2 pm - Come enjoy nature stories while staying warm and cozy by the fire! Afterwards, we’ll create a craft based on the book we read. Check the website for story details each week. $9 members / $11 non-members; preregistation required.

Mommy and Me: Tuesdays, starting February 23, 10-10:45. For children ages 2-3, with caregiver. We will meet live animals, read a book, create a craft and go on a short hike to discover the nature all around us. $7 members; $10 non-members; preregistration required.

Nature Niblets: Thursdays, starting February 25; 1-2:30. For children in PreK, ages 4/5. (description below)

Nature Explorers: Wednesdays, starting February 24; 1-2:30. For children currently in Kindergarten.

Have your child unravel the wonders of the natural world at our on-site enrichment program. Each day will explore a different nature theme. Children will meet some of the Center’s live animals, create crafts, enjoy stories and explore the woods and wetlands of the Center! This is a drop off program for both Niblets and Explorers. Cost: $14 members / $18 non-members.

Summer Camps - Register Now

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:11:19 +0000

NO PRICE INCREASE FOR 2010!!!!

WOODCOCK IS A STATE LICENSED SUMMER CAMP

Junior Naturalist camp for Pre-K and Kindergarten: half day AM/PM

Junior Naturalist camp for First Graders: some weeks are half day; some weeks are full day.

Adventure Camp for 2nd-7th graders: full day.

Lunch Bunch for half day campers!

Friday night campouts! (weather permitting!)

T-shirt color!! light blue with maroon!!

For more information, follow this link

Blue-Trail Bridge

admin — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:15:56 +0000

A low spot on our blue trail often floods and becomes impassable for the groups of children who visit WNC regularly. We need someone with carpentry skills to build and place a small overland bridge.

Stop / Slow Sign for Driveway

admin — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:13:40 +0000

We would love an eye-catching (but not distracting) sign to post along our lengthy driveway to remind drivers to slow down, and to keep an eye out for children and crossing wildlife. Volunteers should submit a design before building a final version.

WNC Promotional DVD

admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:09:32 +0000

Great project for an aspiring film maker! We would love someone to shoot footage of the center, the grounds, the animals and of some of our programs that would be used in a promotional dvd (5-15 minutes long).

Prepping for the Wreath Festival

admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:06:23 +0000

Our Wreath Festival begins after Thanksgiving, but we begin prepping for it in the early fall. We need volunteers to spray paint dried materials, tie ribbons, prepare cardboard boxes for storing materials during the event (wrapping them in festive paper or spray painting the boxes gold or silver) and then, close to the event, organizing and setting up the facility. This could include decorating our pavilion, stringing lights, etc.

Craft Organization

admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:03:41 +0000

Here at Woodcock Nature Center, we go through a lot of craft supplies and with all the different programs we run, our craft supplies sometimes end up in disarray. If you are a person who loves to restore order, we have a job for you! We need someone to go through our supplies and give us a rough estimate of what we have and what we need. Then we need that person to make sure that the supplies are organized and easily accessible. If this sounds like a great job for you, give us a call!

Build us a Tool Shed!

admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:57:43 +0000

We have two existing tool sheds that are in bad shape and not big enough for all our stuff. We’d love to have those either rebuilt or replaced with a water tight, weather proof tool shed or sheds with shelving, hooks, proper locks, etc.

Invasive Plant Clean up

admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:56:52 +0000

We would love a team of volunteers to come eradicate some of the bittersweet and wine berry vines that surround our buildings.

Tree Work

admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:56:22 +0000

We are looking for professional tree workers who can’t get enough of their chosen profession. We have dead and dying trees adjacent to our road and parking area. It would be great to get these cleaned out. Trees could just be dropped or cut into small sections and we’ll burn the wood later in the year in our fireplace!

5K Race/Walk and Kids’ Fun Run this May

admin — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 14:50:22 +0000

On Sunday, May 2, come to Woodcock Nature Center for the second annual “Where the Wild Things Run” 5K through scenic North Wilton. Preceding the race, the kids will have a fun run up our driveway.

Click here to visit our Race Registration Page.

(Race shirt included for the first 200 racers!)

Eggs in Your Basket

admin — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:35:45 +0000

It’s once again time to gather the children and take a walk in the woods looking for eggs.

Follow this link to learn the details.

School Field Trips

admin — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 14:27:56 +0000

Woodcock Nature Center is a great, reasonably priced LOCAL resource for your students! We can travel to your school or you can come to us for a fun, educational, hands-on experience. We work with students ages 3 and up and will custom design a class to suit your needs. Our elementary school programs correspond with the Connecticut Assessment Standards. We have live animals who travel, and you and your students will enjoy the experience. We have parking for buses and can work with up to 50 students at a time.

See School Field Trips for more details.

Costume Design & Sewing

admin — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 02:47:28 +0000

We would like to add one or a few characters to our group of Woodland Creatures who appear during our “Family Howl Prowl” event. Though we will only introduce one new character each year, a volunteer would make one or more full-body adult-sized costumes that depict a creature of the night. Please contact us regarding specific animals and design. Undetermined hours.

Mailbox Hut

admin — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 04:23:15 +0000

The years have not been kind to the Woodcock Nature Center mailbox out on Deer Run Road. Our mailbox is dinged, the protective wood mailbox hut is slanted and weather-beaten. Help us by building a new mailbox hut, or by refurbishing and painting the old one. Cleaning up the ground around the mailbox itself would also be appreciated - there is bittersweet growing around it and scrubby brush that could be cut back. Some nature-themed designs on the mailboxes would be great, too. Since this is a “first look” at Woodcock, we’d love it if our mailbox was fixed! 5-10 hours of work at the WNC or elsewhere.

Gutter Repair & Maintenance

admin — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 04:22:08 +0000

Our rain gutters have an unusual design - for whatever reason, one dumps vast quantities of water directly in front of the main door to the nature center. We’d love a redesign or at least a temporary fix that might alleviate this problem.

In addition, the gutters frequently become blocked by leaves; in addition to cleaning them out, we need a helpful handyperson to fix/finish/re-route them to help prevent future build-up. The blockage has resulted in water going where it shouldn’t and making a trench / huge puddle right where we need to walk.

Boardwalk Maintenance

admin — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 04:21:25 +0000

Some boards on our everglades-style boardwalk need replacing. Volunteer must be (or must be accompanied by) an adult with some carpentry experience. Volunteer may have to stand in water at points, waders provided if necessary. In addition, trees and shrubs along the side of the boardwalk need to be trimmed regularly. Job will take about 5-10 hours total.

Summer Camp Help Needed

admin — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 04:14:40 +0000

Our hugely popular 10-week summer camp educates 45+ campers each week with a focus on outdoor activities and developing a love and respect for nature. Junior Naturalist Summer Day Camp is for children in Pre-K through 1st grade, and the Adventure Camp is for children in 2nd grade to 7th grade.Our Junior Naturalist Day Camp is a more traditional camp, with counselor-led activities, hikes, stories and crafts. Adventure camp is intended to have the children work with the counselor to plan the day’s activities. Activities may include: canoeing, bouldering, shelter building, animal care, GPS study, geo-caching, etc.

COUNSELOR POSITION:

QUALIFICATIONS:- A sincere desire to teach young students about nature and the environment.- Minimum of first year study preferably in Environmental Science, Biology, Elementary Education or related fields.- Experience leading and working with kids.- Self-motivated and able to work with limited supervision.- CPR, Standard First Aid, and Lifesaving (desired, but not required).- Music, game, art, craft, and theatre skills a plus.- Must be available 6/1/10 - August 15, 2010. WNC is closed the week of July 4 but we need counselors to be available the rest of the summer (please, no other commitments or travel plans!).

RESPONSIBILITIES:- Implement existing summer nature and environmental education curriculums by teaching groups of up to 18 children (preK-7th grade). Two counselors work together with each group of children.- Design and teach original programs by working closely with camp director.- Work as a part of a small team of counselors.- Give the children in your care an educational and fun summer experience.- Participate in the daily operation and maintenance of WNC and the preserve.- Help supervise at least three scheduled overnight Friday camp-outs (extra compensation given for camp-outs).

COMPENSATION: PAID, amount dependant on experience. Hours vary by week. College credit is often available if agreed upon by your school.

TO APPLY: Send cover letter, resume and three references to: WoodcockNatureCenter@yahoo.com

ADVENTURE CAMP COORDINATOR:

Do you want a really fun summer job? Woodcock Nature Center is looking for an Adventure Camp Coordinator for the 2010 Summer. We are looking for a college student or graduate who will be responsible for designing and setting up adventure based activities for our 2nd-7th grade campers. Adventure campers cycle through various activities that the Adventure Camp Coordinator creates - such as rock climbing / bouldering, GPS activities, team-building events, canoeing, wading, fly fishing, night vision cameras, fire-building, animal handling and other programs that you create. You must work well with other counselors and staff, have a strong desire to work with kids, be flexible, creative and fun, and be able to adapt to unexpected challenges. Rock climbing experience is mandatory; CPR and First Aid certification is desired by not required. You must be available June 1 - August 15, 2010. You will also be participating in the daily operation and maintenance of WNC and the preserve. All counselors, including you, will help supervise at least three scheduled overnight Friday camp-outs (extra compensation given for camp-outs).- follow this link to find out more:

For questions or more information please call us directly at 203-762-7280.

Trail and Grounds Maintenance

admin — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 03:58:32 +0000

We need ongoing help clearing trails and keeping them safe for hikers and school groups that visit our center. Must be willing to work outside and have written permission from a guardian. No specific time-frame, we can match our needs with your available hours.

WNC Preschool

admin — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:42:51 +0000

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