Tracking: The Finer Details
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Saturday, October 18, 2008 10 am - 3 pm
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This class will teach how to track animals and people under different conditions. Through various exercises and techniques, you will learn to see the wealth of information left on the forest floor. You’ll spend a lot of time on hands and knees, nose to the ground, examining the most minute details of tracks. You’ll learn to recognize and follow a trail over surfaces that make tracking very difficult.
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Kent Hicks is an expert in human tracking whose assistance is sought by many organizations. He is considered by many trackers to be one of the leading authorities on the art and science of aging tracks. Kent will teach you how to apply this knowledge to your tracking to bring it to a higher level, whether human tracking or animal tracking. Whether you are a beginner, an intermediate, or an advanced tracker, this class is a must! Many expert trackers have taken this class from Kent several times, expanding and enriching their tracking skills.
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This course will be held in the foothills of the Berkshires along the wild and scenic Westfield River in western Massachusetts. Bring pen, paper, and something waterproof to kneel on.
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This class (taken either today or previously) will be a pre-requisite for an exciting new class that Kent has been planning for us next spring, when you will have the opportunity to practice your tracking forensic skills unravelling the mysteries at a re-created search-and-rescue site. More details will be coming this spring.
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with Kent Hicks
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Limit: 15 Fee: $50/person
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A Walk in William Cullen Bryant’s Woods
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Sunday, October 19, 2008 10 am - 1 pm
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William Cullen Bryant was truly a man for all seasons, a towering figure in the 1800s. Over his long and distinguished life he was a lawyer, poet, practitioner of homeopathic medicine, abolitionist, landscaper, master of five languages, and of course, the distinguished editor of the New York Post. Bryant is well known to naturalists for his deep appreciation of the native forests of his beloved Berkshire Hills. Several of Bryant’s poems reflect his appreciation. One poem will be recited on the walk.
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Bryant believed he had a small remnant of the original virgin forest on the land of his childhood in Cummington, Massachusetts, and in fact, an old growth remnant still exists on the Bryant Homestead, owned and operated by the Trustees of Reservations. Walk with Bob Leverett as he shares the big tree treasures of Bryant Woods. Along the Rivulet Trail, old growth forest characteristics are easy to see. Bob will point them out along with a number of charismatic trees, a few of which Bryant would have seen in both his youth and near the end of his life. Bob will also relate his participation in helping establish the Pine Loop – a side trail through one of the most impressive mature white pine forests in all New England. Bob will re-measure the Bryant Pine and discuss the ecological trajectory of the pines in the pine stand.
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This is a unique opportunity to combine New England culture and history with ecology and appreciation of big trees in a single Walnut Hill program. A walk in Bryant’s Woods rates with the best of New England’s woodland experiences.
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with Bob Leverett
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Limit: 15 Fee: $50/person
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The Ancient Art of Tool Making
Atlatl: Early Archaic’s Spear Launching Breakthrough
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Saturday, October 25, 2008 10 am - 4 pm
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The Atlatl was a revolutionary device that gave the spear more accuracy and distance, allowing the Early Archaic Indians of 7000 to 5000 years ago to hunt smaller, more elusive game such as caribou after the mastodons and mammoths of Paleo days disappeared. In this hands-on workshop, you will learn how to build the shaft from locally-gathered wood, fire-harden the tip, attach feather fletching using sinew, and practice throwing this amazing weapon. Rob’s skill and encyclopedic knowledge will astound you!
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This program will meet at Walnut Hill Tracking & Nature Center in Orange, Massachusetts, rain-or-shine (outside around the fire pit, or inside in our 1850's barn in inclement weather).
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with Robbie Leverett
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Limit: 12 Fee: $65/person (includes materials)
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Climbing and Measuring the Tallest Tree in New England
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Saturday, November 1st, 2008 10 am - 2 pm
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The white pine is one of the symbols of New England. No species of tree figured so prominently in the early economics Massachusetts as did the white pine. Its use as ship masts for the Royal Navy is well documented. However, most people do not realize that the white pine is the tallest native tree species in the eastern United States. At least some accounts of trees exceeding 200 feet are considered reliable. Although the giants of yesteryear are gone, there are a few sites in the eastern United States that have white pines that now reach into the 150-foot height class, with a few trees over 180 feet. One exceptional tall tree site is Mohawk Trail State Forest in Charlemont, Massachusetts. Mohawk is location to over 85 individual trees over 150 feet in height and also the location of the single tallest accurately measured tree in New England - the Jake Swamp Tree. Current ground-based determinations of this large pine place it at between 168.0 and 169.5 feet. The Jake Swamp Tree has been climbed twice in the past and will be climbed again on November 1st.
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Join Will Blozan and Bob Leverett of the Eastern Native Tree Society (ENTS) as they re-measure the Jake Swamp Pine. Arborist and President of ENTS Will Blozan will climb the tree and drop a tape to get its full height down to an accuracy of +/- 1.5 inches, as assisted by Bob Leverett on the ground. Bob will demonstrate ground-based tree measurements, recount the history of the white pine in the East, and discuss research projects on maximum tree dimensions being conducted by ENTS to provide us with a fuller understanding of the potential of eastern species of trees at a time when many tree species are in trouble.
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This will be unique opportunity to observe and participate in the re-measuring of New England’s tallest living thing.
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with Bob Leverett and Will Blozan
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Limit: 15 Fee: $60/person
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| Walnut Hill Tracking & Nature Center |
| Nick Wisniewski and Valerie Major, co-founders |
| Valerie Major began her life-long study of nature accompanying her father in the forests of Arkansas. She continued her training as a fifteen-year student and three-year apprentice with Paul Rezendes. She has taught outdoor skills to youth and adults for twenty-five years. Valerie keeps a link with her native heritage as a board member and teacher at the Eastern American Indian Cultural Center. Valerie encourages the spirit of inquiry and exploration through her primitive, experiential, teaching method. |
| Nick Wisniewski is an expert on animal tracks and sign. He was a long-term student and three-year apprentice of master tracker Paul Rezendes, with whom he maintains close personal ties. His on-going tracking projects include animal surveys for wildlife sanctuaries, and a multi-year effort to document Mountain Lion track and sign in southern New England. A life-long naturalist, he became fascinated by tracking in 1984 after encountering fresh Wolf scat and tracks while on an extended solo trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area in Minnesota. His passion is using animal tracking as a unifying method for nature study and exploration. |
| Special Guest Teachers |
| John McCarter was the senior staff instructor for Paul Rezendes Nature Programs, and has taught for many organizations throughout New England. He has been tracking wildlife for more than twenty years and is among the region's leading authorities on animal tracks and sign. John made the discovery of a lifetime when he found a Mountain Lion scat in the Quabbin Reservoir reservation in 1997, which has been dna-verified by two independent labs. |
| Bob Leverett is the East's premier interpreter of old growth forests and is credited with discovering many of the previously unrecognized ancient sites here in the northeast. Bob's expertise is unparalled and his opinion is highly sought by professional forest experts, conservation organizations, and the general public. His encyclopedic knowledge of trees and the forest is matched only by his infectious enthusiasm. He has discovered many places of majestic beauty in his search for "the monarchs of the forest." |
| Alcott Smith is an ecologist of the highest caliber and conducts research and leads field trips for many conservation organizations in New England. From his childhood he has maintained a lifelong commitment and unwavering allegiance to the indigenous fauna of northern New England. Beyond an active role in the perpetuity of endangered species, he revels in sharing his passion with others and excels in his ability to bring to life the relationship between our wild fauna and its habitat. |
| Kent Hicks uses his tracking skills to assist local and state authorities and search and rescue teams in locating lost and missing persons. He has trained Royal Canadian Mounted Police, FBI agents and other law enforcement personnel. Kent's tracking knowledge of humans and animals is unexcelled. An "un-sung" talent, he is considered by many trackers to be the region's leading expert on aging of tracks and sign. |
| Rob Leverett is a recognized expert in "primitive" tool making. Of Cherokee-Choctaw ancestry, he has taught many classes in schools throughout New England, as well as at Native American events. Rob possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of American indigenous people and their cultures and history. He has amazing skill in working with natural materials, and the objects he produces are literally beautiful works of art. He is an inspiring teacher, and his enthusiasm is contagious. |
| Bob Tremblay has been working as a professional outdoor guide since 1982, and has a B.A. and M.A. in Outdoor Adventure Education and Leadership. During his 20 years as an outdoor leader he has guided thousands of people on diverse outdoor adventures including backpacking, canoeing, kayaking, rock and ice climbing, and dog sledding. Bob loves to share his passion for the outdoors with others. |
| John Green is a reknowned naturalist and professional photographer. He has lived in Western Massachusetts for over thirty years and travels widely exploring and documenting nature with his awe-inspiring photography. We are honored to have him join our teaching staff! |
Tracking & Nature Center 
