Field & Forest Friday Program

by Chris Hubbard, Education Director

Each winter, hundreds of southern Vermont schoolchildren are dismissed early from school one day a week and head to the slopes and to rinks, where they are enrolled in the Junior Instructional Snowsports Program (JISP) for instruction in skiing or snowboarding, and in some schools, to take ice skating lessons. Students at the Mettawee Community School, for the first time since COVID threw things for a loop, once again had another option this winter: Merck Forest & Farmland Center’s JISP alternative Field and Forest Fridays.

By continuing to provide our local students with an opportunity to head outside, we are helping them connect with the wonders of the natural world, learn about their environment, try something new, and have fun in a wintery wonderland. MFFC truly appreciates its partnership with the Taconic Green Supervisory Union and the Vermont Land Trust in making this partnership happen.

2022 Summer Camps

by Cara Davenport, Education Manager

I walked the Discovery Trail a little while ago and it took me past the yurt, where it sat quietly under a coating of snow down in the little knoll we call “Base Camp.” I took a moment to duck inside (it was surprisingly warm despite the day’s well-below-freezing temperatures) and reflected that in just a few short months the space will be bustling with voices, green things, and activity as the camp season begins.

We have another full summer of day camps planned for the upcoming season, and plenty of returning campers along with lots of new faces. If you venture upon a crew of campers this summer, we’ll be immersed in the Merck Forest landscape; venturing into streams and fields, picking berries, investigating the forest floor, playing camouflage alongside trails, visiting the farm animals and building forts around the yurt.

Whether you’re a camper this summer or someone planning your visit or stay, we’re looking forward to having you back at Merck Forest. The fields and forest are waiting!