Audubon Offering

Adult Naturalist Course

SOUTH BRITAIN — Interested in expanding your knowledge of nature? The Audubon Center at Bent of the River is offering an “Audubon Naturalist” course for adults who want hands-on learning of the natural world.

From April to December, as the seasons change, participants will explore Audubon’s almost 700 acres of wildlife sanctuary with Audubon educators and witness the changing habits of wildlife, as well as the life cycle of plants.

During spring, as the birds begin building their nests and the woodland plants emerge, the course schedule includes an introduction to ornithology and early spring botany, as well as the unique geology of the Pomperaug Valley. In late May and early June, students will learn about the interesting inhabitants and the importance of vernal pools to the ecosystem, the habits of neotropical migrant birds, and the late spring flora. In late June, as the lightning bugs light up the meadows, and the moths and the bats populate the sky, there will be a class on evening ecology.

After an eight-week summer break, classes will resume in late August, when late summer flora will be studied, followed by two weeks of classes on tree identification and forest ecology. Moving into the fall season, the featured topics will be bird migration and winter ecology, which will include mammal tracking, seed dispersal, and winter plant identification. Participants will also enjoy doing biological and chemical assessments of the Pomperaug River.

Students should be capable of hiking at least one mile on moderately strenuous terrain.

The course will consist of 12 two-hour classes beginning April 15 and 16 and ending in late December. Participants have the option of attending class either on Sunday afternoons from 2 to 4 or Monday mornings from 9 to 11.

For a complete class schedule or to register for the Audubon Naturalist course, call Jim Drennan at 264-5098, extension 306, or email Jdrennan@Audubon.org. Registration fee is $75 for Audubon members and $85 for nonmembers for the 12 sessions.

The Audubon Center at Bent of the River is at 185 East Flat Hill Road in South Britain, about a half mile from Connecticut Route 172. The center is open to visitors daily from dawn to dusk.