HARDWICK – The Hardwick Trails Committee is offering free events on Saturdays throughout the summer. Events begin at the Hardwick Trails Kiosk behind the parking lot of Hazen Union School. All are welcome.
On July 13, there will be a program on medicinal plants at 9 a.m. with Miranda Resnick. On this slow-paced medicinal plant walk through the Hardwick Trails, walkers will weave together practical information about identification, medicinal uses. Herbs will not be harvested herbs from the trails, but there will be some samples for tasting.
Foraging will be the subject of an event on July 27, on the trails, at 9 a.m. with Lucian Avery. Walkers will snack on some plants and appreciate others from a distance. The ethics of wild harvesting and basic plant identification for eating will be covered,
The trails will have a nature hunt for children on August 3 at 10 a.m., with Alicia Benoit-Clark. The event is geared for children, ages 5 to 12, who will look for a variety of nature objects, including plants, animals, rocks, trees, colors found in the woods world. Benoit-Clark, a long-time elementary school teacher and nature lover, will bring all the supplies needed. Children should wear closed-toe shoes.
On August 10, there will be a geology walk on the trails beginning at 8 a.m., with Dave Mitchell. Mitchell, a retired science teacher and amateur geologist, will explain the ice sheet that once covered all New England and melted thousands of years ago. He will point out that Hardwick used to be the bottom of a glacial lake and the bedrock of the Hardwick area was formed in a shallow, warm sea.
For more information, contact Norma Wiesen at (802) 472-6517.
