Calendar

Saturday 9:00 AM - MEET THE KIDS!

Join us one hour earlier than we open to the public and enjoy a wonderful new benefit of your membership. First, check in at the Welcome Center with your membership card, then walk the Farm Loop trail to the goat dairy to meet our new and very cute baby goats, called kids. There will also be shuttle van service available to take guests to Hildene Farm in the dene to see our new (and also very cute) lambs, as well as our alpacas, cows, chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits and Peaches the pig!  

Please note, there is no parking at the Goat Dairy or at Hildene Farm in the dene.  
For more information, contact Christine at 802-367-7964 or email Christine

Saturday, 7:00 am, At Hildene, the Lincoln Family Home. Free 
Merlin (a bird and an app) 

Birds are beginning to return to VT wearing their breeding plumage and singing their distinctive songs. What birds are we hearing? What bird is blue and white and the size of a robin? The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has designed a program/app called Merlin Bird ID  to coach bird watchers to identify the birds seen and heard. Merlin asks to describe the location, color, size, and behavior of the bird to lead to a possible identification. The Photo ID feature allows a photo to be uploaded to trigger a list of suggestions.  Merlin Sound ID can also help identify the bird by listening to the song you are hearing. Simply hold out the phone, tap record, and get suggestions in real time. This is a powerful tool! It is important to use all clues to help make a bird identification without accepting the app’s ID as a definitive. 

Click here to learn more and to download the Merlin Bird Id app for your smart phone.

Appropriate for birders of all skill levels, the walks run along uneven terrain on forest and meadow trails and around the main house. Meet at Hildene’s Welcome Center at 7:00 AM. Questions? Contact Stephanie at (802) 367-7960 or click to email.

Saturday, 1:00 - 2:00 pm

Spring is springing! Join naturalist Rose West on an exploratory walk to learn about the natural world and the fascinating systems that sustain the land and its inhabitants.

$5/person with admission; members are free. Registration is encouraged, but not required.  Contact Stephanie at 802.367.7960 or click to email.

Saturday and Sunday, 10:00am - 4:30 PM  at the goat dairy and animal barn

By mid-April there will be lots of lambs and kids bouncing around Hildene Farm. All guests must check in at the Welcome Center to pay admission or pick up their member stickers. Then enjoy a walk to the goat dairy on the Farm Loop trail. We will provide van rides from there to our other animal barn in the dene where you’ll find lambs—in addition to alpacas, cows, chickens and rabbits. Peaches the pig will greet you! Happy Spring! 

For more information, contact Stephanie at (802) 367-7960 or click to email. 

Friday 9:00 - 11:00 AM

Join us for our first Member Walk of the season – Think Spring in the Greenhouse! Meet in front of the Welcome Center at 9:00 AM for a walk down the Maple Trail and to the dene (steep at times).  We will walk past the 1832 Hollow School house and over to the greenhouse to take in the wonders of what has been growing all winter long. Please wear comfortable walking shoes, plan for some mud, bring water and wear sunscreen. No need to RSVP. 

For more information, contact Christine at 802-367-7964 or email Christine

Choose a Day! Friday - Sunday, 9:00 - 11:30 AM

It’s time to spread your wings and learn a delightful new hobby. Join avid birders Claudia Burns and Warren Cairo for a beginner’s primer on the endlessly engaging world of birdwatching.  Participants can choose to take the workshop either Friday, April 26, Saturday, April 27, or Sunday, April 28, from 9:00 to 11:30 AM. Claudia and Warren will go over the fundamentals of equipment, etiquette, and identification, and then help you put those skills into practice outdoors. 

The workshop will entail moderate walking. For ages 12 and up. Registration required: $20 for members, $25 for non-members. Contact Stephanie at (802) 367-7960 or click to email.

Saturday, 7:00 - 8:30 am, At Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home. Free 
Falcons 

The Merlin (a bird!) is one of three falcons that nest in VT. The American Kestral is the smallest of the falcons, while the Peregrine Falcon is the largest. The medium-sized Merlin can be gray or brown but without the distinctive facial “sideburns” of the kestrel and Peregrine Falcon. These three birds of prey have pointed wings and flap constantly while in flight. They are fast and can change direction quickly, often hunting prey on the wing.  A protrusion in the falcon’s upper bill is called a tomial tooth, a sharp triangular-shaped ridge on the outer edges of the upper bill. This adaptation makes it possible for them to use their beaks as a weapon to sever the spinal cord of their prey.

Meet at the Welcome Center. Appropriate for birders of all skill levels, the walks run along forest and meadow trails and around the main house. For more information, contact stephanie@hildene.org or call 802-367-7960

Saturday, 7:00 - 8:30 am, At Hildene, the Lincoln Family Home. Free

May is a time of anticipation, expectation, and joy as the songs of the first migrants announce their arrival. This is a time when the Merlin Song ID app feature is especially useful. The American Robin is a well-known and recognized member of the Thrush Family. But it is the Hermit Thrush that won the vote in 1941 to become the Vermont state bird. Why? Because it is a native Vermonter (breeding here) and a summer visitor! Sometimes difficult to see foraging for insects on the ground, this brown bird has a distinctive rufus tail. The belly is white with spots on the throat. But what really distinguishes and identifies this as a Hermit Thrush is its song. The beginning note is a strong single whistle followed by soft, echo-like flute tones. Click and Listen!

Appropriate for birders of all skill levels, the walks run along uneven terrain on forest and meadow trails and around the main house. Meet at Hildene’s Welcome Center at 7:00 AM. Questions? Contact Stephanie at (802) 367-7960 or click to emal.

Tuesday, 1:00 - 2:30 PM
(Rain date, May 22)

Are you tired of seeing your beautiful peonies collapsing to the ground? Are your lovely blossoms getting pummeled into the dirt by the rain? Learn how to support them using Hildene’s unique method of peony staking. Hildene’s horticulturists will talk about the estate’s historic peony collection and current garden management practices. Participants will then go into the peony borders flanking the formal garden and learn how to effectively stake a peony plant. 

Program & materials fee: $25 for members/ $30 for non-members, (includes one Hildene staking kit to take home). Space is limited. Registration required by Monday, May 20. Contact Stephanie at (802) 367-7967 or click to email.

Friday 9:00 - 10:30 AM

Join us for our May Member Walk – Kids at the Goat Dairy! Meet in front of the Welcome Center at 9:00AM for a wonderful walk to the Goat Dairy to check in on our new additions. We will then head over the Awards Trail to the front lawn of the home and skip around to the back to enjoy our gorgeous Formal Gardens which should be full of peony buds.  We may even see some of our early peony bloomers showing off their amazing flowers! Please wear comfortable walking shoes, plan for some mud, bring water and wear sunscreen. No need to RSVP.

For more information, contact Christine at 802-367-7964 or email Christine

Saturday 1:00 - 3:00 PM

Hildene Farm Livestock Manager and Educator Kimberly Pinsonneault will offer a workshop for those interested in raising chickens for eggs. Learn about: the benefits of keeping your own chickens and considerations before you do so, choosing the right breed and where to find them, care, safety, health, resources and tips. 

$20 Members, $25 non-members. Registration is required by May 23. Contact Stephanie at (802) 367-7960 or click to email. 

Saturday 9:00 AM

New for 2024, come join us an hour before we open to see the peonies! Beat the crowds and bring your camera to take in the gorgeous flowers in the morning light. First, check at the Welcome Center with your membership card, then walk to the Formal Gardens. Please note, the house will not be open until 10:00 AM when we open to the public. There will be a tram available to take members to and from the Formal Gardens during this Early Access Day hour! 

For more information, contact Christine at 802-367-7964 or christine@hildene.org.

Saturday, 7:00 - 8:30 am, At Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home. Free 
Baltimore Oriole

Listen for the loud, flutelike repetitious song of the Baltimore Oriole and then look for a flame-orange bird high in the treetops. The more subdued yellow female does most of the nest building. Her intricately woven pouch of hair and plant fibers will be suspended between branches or a fork high in a tree. While well-hidden during nesting, it is quite visible after the leaves have fallen. 

Meet at the Welcome Center. Appropriate for birders of all skill levels, the walks run along forest and meadow trails and around the main house. Questions? Contact Stephanie at (802) 367-7960 or click to email.

Fridays and Saturdays, 9:30 - 11:00 AM, pre-registration is required.

Farm Chores will be offered on Fridays at the goat dairy on the property’s upper level and Saturdays at the animal barn on the lower level known as the dene, June 21-July 27.  Children ages 3 to 12 will have fun assisting farm staff in the morning chores routine which includes feeding and grooming the animals, pitching their pens and cleaning their feeders. 

Registration required at least 48 hours in advance. Family of 4: $20 (members)/$25 (non-members); $5 each additional person aged 3 and up. Groups limited to no more than 5 children, all of whom must be accompanied by an adult. To register, contact Stephanie at (802) 367-7960 or click to email.

Friday 9:00 - 11:00 AM

Join us for our June Member Walk – Visiting the Boardwalk! Meet in front of the Welcome Center at 9:00 AM for an early summer walk to the floating boardwalk in the dene.  After walking down the Maple Trail (steep at times), we will walk through the pollinator pathway to the boardwalk to enjoy the beauty of the wetlands while looking for frogs, turtles, Blue Herons, and Red-wing Blackbirds. There will be tram service running if you want a ride back up the Maple Trail to the Welcome Center. Please wear comfortable walking shoes, plan for some mud, bring water and wear sunscreen. No need to RSVP. 

For more information, contact Christine at 802-367-7964 or email Christine

Saturday,  11:00 AM - 12:30 AM (rain date: July 21)

We’re going on a safari! Join Leslie Spencer for a Pollinator Safari at Hildene. Inspired by her urban pollinator conservation work with the Tufts Pollinator Initiative in Boston, Leslie will guide participants through Hildene's gardens, introducing you to the secret lives of pollinators. Get up close to these gentle insects, learn to ID them and how to support native plants and insects at home. Leslie earned her BS in Biology and a Minor in Food Systems & Nutrition from Tufts University in 2021 and is a current PhD student in the Food Systems Graduate Program at the University of Vermont.  

Registration is required, as space is limited.  $20 for members/$25 for nonmembers. Please register by July 18, by contacting Stephanie at (802) 267-7960 or or click to email.