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Programs & Field Trips Programs for Adults: Book Discussion Group: Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens by Douglas Tallamy Beneficial insects are being deprived of food when suburban gardeners use nonnative plant material. A weakened food chain results that will no longer support birds and other animal life. Tallamy’s message is encouraging: it’s not too late to save the link between insects and animals by replacing alien plants with natives. Location: Dirigo Pines in Orono, call 866-3400 for directions. Thursday, February 11, 7 p.m. Leader: Joyce Rumery Cost: Free Wellness Day Come to the nature center and enjoy a full day of exercising, relaxing and being good to yourself. We will begin the day with a yoga class then head out for snowshoeing, share a lunch with eachother (healthy, vegetarian potluck), and close with nature journaling and meditation. Saturday, February 20, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Cost: $40/member; $50/nonmember Maine: three (or so) billion years in the making Christopher Gerbi will trace the bedrock and paleogeographic history of Maine from the age of the oldest known mineral grains through to modernity, with an emphasis on far-flung origins of various areas of the state. Encounter tools geologists use to track bedrock history through space and time. Examples of 2 billion-year-old rocks will be available – hold the history yourself! Tuesday, February 23, 7 p.m.; snow date Thursday, February 25 Presenter: Christopher Gerbi, Assistant Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, UMaine, Orono Cost: $5/member; $6/nonmember Chapter Program: Songbird Migration in the Gulf of Maine: Hotspots for Hotshots? Thursday, March 4, 6:30 p.m. Location: Bangor Public Library Presenter: Rebecca Holberton and Adrienne Leppold With new emphasis on wind power in the Gulf of Maine comes the urgent task of studying its effects on wildlife. Fresh research conducted by the University of Maine reveals startling new discoveries about the river of birds that migrate over our offshore islands. Some hot spots have astonished scientists, with abundance never before imagined. While it's too soon to tell if birds and wind power are on a collision course, it's time to sit up and take notice. Penobscot Valley Chapter Field Trip: Backyard Boreals Boreal Chickadees, Gray Jays, and Spruce Grouse are the targets as we explore areas in and around Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Milford. Other winter irruptives such as crossbills and redpolls are likely. Owls in daylight are always a winter possibility in this area as are early-returning American Woodcocks. Bring snacks, warm clothing, and mud-worthy footwear. We’ll travel by 15-passenger van, so the trip is limited to 10 participants. Saturday, March 6, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Location: On The Run, a convenience store in Milford, just over the bridge from Old Town on Route 2. Leaders: Bob & Sandi Duchesne Cost: Free. Advance registration required. Please call 989-2591. Book Discussion Group: The Cloudspotter’s Guide: The Science, History, and Culture of Clouds by Gavin Pretor-Pinney Pretor-Pinney, founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society, clears up any confusion about what separates a stratus from a cirrus from a cumulonimbus. He starts at sea level and discusses the types of clouds that form at each level in the atmosphere. The result is an amusing and informative jaunt through the heavenly vapors. Location: Dirigo Pines in Orono, call 866-3400 for directions. Thursday, March 11, 7 p.m. Leader: Joyce Rumery Cost: Free Wild Poetry: a nature writing workshop for ages 8 and older Set your imagination free as we explore and reveal the wonders of nature in the environs surrounding Fields Pond Audubon Center. Enjoy a nature walk, experience fun writing exercises, hear great poetry (bring your own favorite sample), write your own poetry, and share your writing (optional of course). Sunday, March 14, 1-3 p.m. Leaders: Cheryl Daigle, Penobscot River Restoration Trust and Holly Twining, naturalist Cost: $8/member; $10/nonmember. Children accompanied by an adult are free. Advance registration required. Nature Poetry Reading Join word enthusiasts at the nature center for an evening for poetry. Share your favorite nature or environmental poem. Your poem could be obscure, well-known, or one you wrote yourself. Or, if you prefer, just come to listen to the beauty of poetry about nature. Tuesday, March 16, 7 p.m. Leader: Christina Diebold Cost: Free The Largest Wetland in the World Judy Kellogg Markowsky and 24 other students went to Brazil with our professors, Bill Glanz, Mac Hunter and Aram Calhoun to see the Pantanal, the largest wetland in the world, and its wildlife. They brought back many wonderful memories and souvenirs and photos of wildlife, including the capybara, and caiman, and many colorful birds like the jabiru. Wednesday, March 31, 7 p.m. Presenter: Judy Kellogg Markowsky Cost: $5/member; $6/nonmember View Past Field Trips Snow Geese in Quebec 2009 Campobello 2009 Central Maine 2009 Seal Island 2008 Backyard Boreals 2008 Schoodic 2007

Children’s Programs: Nature Time for Children: Winter Session Parents with children ages 2 to 4, join us for a nature-based program with stories, creative play, hands-on activities, and art projects. Parents participate too. Be prepared to be outside for a portion of each program. Wednesdays, February 3 – March 17, 11 a.m.-noon Cost: $24/member, $28/nonmember. Advance registration required. Girl Scout Badges Program The following girls Scout Badges are being offered at Fields Pond Audubon Center. Contact the Girl Scouts of Maine council office at 1-800-464-3858 for information and registration. Winter Walk for Daisy, Brownies, and Juniors Sunday, February 14, 1:30-3:30 p.m. February School Vacation Camp For children ages 7 to 13 Each day of vacation camp features a special nature activity: Tuesday is building and installing bird nesting and roosting boxes; Wednesday is searching for winter insects; Thursday is ice fishing on Fields Pond; and Friday is all about maple syrup. Parents may register children for one, two, three or all four days. Early drop-off and late pick-up may be arranged for an added fee. Contact the Center for more information. February 16, 17, 18, 19 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Leader: Ruth Perry Cost: member $40/day; $140/4 days nonmember $50/day; $175/4 days Advance payment and registration required. Enormous Insects Visit Fields Pond Audubon Center All ages are invited to see some enormous insects, and maybe a hedgehog. Why does a giant cockroach hiss? Does a giant millipede have even more than a thousand legs? Does a giant walking stick take giant steps? Is a hedgehog the same as a porcupine? Discover the answer to these questions and more! February 17, 1-2 p.m. Presenter: James Dill of the University of Maine’s Cooperative Extension Cost: $5/person or $10/family Saturdays in the Discovery Room presents: Animal Tracks! Join Ruth and Hannah for a Saturday morning of discovery. We’ll start inside by walking like animals – hop like the hoppers and bound like the bounders! We’ll learn to tell different animals by their tracks, make Plaster of Paris track casts and track stories with track stamps. We’ll test our knowledge by heading outside to look for and identify animal tracks. Saturday, February 27, 10 a.m.-noon $8/member; $10/nonmember (cost covers materials) Wild Poetry: a nature writing workshop for ages 8 and older Set your imagination free as we explore and reveal the wonders of nature in the environs surrounding Fields Pond Audubon Center. Enjoy a nature walk, experience fun writing exercises, hear great poetry (bring your own favorite sample), write your own poetry, and share your writing (optional of course). Saturday, March 13, 1-3 p.m. Leaders: Cheryl Daigle, Penobscot River Restoration Trust and Holly Twining, naturalist Cost: $8/member; $10/nonmember. Children accompanied by an adult are free. Advance registration required. Saturdays in the Discovery Room presents: Did you hear that? Join Ruth and Hannah for a Saturday morning of discovery. Buzz, chirp, peep, tweet, chirrup, ribit – how do we know animals are there if we can’t see them? Often we can hear them! We’ll identify sounds, learn how they are made, make some ourselves and go on a listening safari. Saturday March 27, 10 a.m.-noon $8/member; $10/nonmember (cost covers materials) Fields Pond Programs and Courses 216 Fields Pond Road Holden, Maine 04429 USA (207) 989-2591