Quechee, VT – Join the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) as we celebrate Earth Day for two days on Saturday, April 21, and Sunday, April 22, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.
In conjunction with Earth Day we are celebrating the Year of the Bird, to mark the centennial of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, so come to the VINS Nature Center to learn how you can be “bird-friendly & planet-friendly” in your daily life. Simple changes around your house or yard can be bird-friendly and better for our climate. Explore the habitat needs of local animals by building “fairy houses” for them in the woods. Take a guided hike down to the famous Quechee Gorge and marvel at millions of years of geological change. Meet some of our resident raptors and reptiles up close, and learn what you can do to help these majestic creatures thrive in their environments.
A Special Screening at VINS on Saturday, April 21 at 3:00 pm and 3:30 pm. Two award–winning nature documentaries will be presented. Meet the filmmaker and one of the pelican rehabilitators for a question and answer session after the screenings.
The Loons on Golden Pond – 3:00 pm. This film, produced and directed by Charlie Rattigan, Executive Director at VINS, never before has the life of the common loon been filmed so dramatically close, so beautifully and memorable as in this award-winning, Emmy-nominated video adventure on Golden Pond.
Pelican Dreams – 3:30 pm. Film by Judy Irving. What’s it like to try to get to know a flying dinosaur? Sundance-and Emmy-Award-winning filmmaker Judy Irving (The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill) follows a wayward California brown pelican from her “arrest” on the Golden Gate Bridge into care at a wildlife rehabilitation facility, and from there explores pelicans’ nesting grounds, Pacific coast migration, and survival challenges.
All activities are included with general admission to the Nature Center, which is $15.50 for adults; $14.50 for seniors 62 and above; $13.50 for youth ages 4-17; and free for Members and for children 3 and under.