As many of us rang in the new year last week, communities across the state started 2023 with a First Day Hike.
For this week's Give Back New Hampshire segment, NHPR's Emily Quirk made a first time visit to the Beaver Brook Association in Hollis to take part in a first day stroll and to find out more about an organization that promotes land conservation through education and stewardship.
Transcript
Lindsey Jones (executive director): My name is Lindsey Jones and I'm the executive director of Beaver Brook.
Beaver Brook Association was founded almost 60 years ago by two cousins who wanted to start this place to connect people in the natural world.
We're one of the largest land trust in the area, and we offer nature based education and over 35 miles of hiking trails on our 2200 acres of protected land, here. Our trails are multi purpose. Some of them are —we allow mountain biking, horseback riding. A lot of people like to snowshoe in the winter or cross-country ski, and those trails are marked as such.
Becky Kellner (program director): Our goal for programming is to create positive connections so that we have land stewards for the future.
My name is Becky Kellner. I am the program director at Beaver Brook Association. What I do at Beaver Brook is I create the bridge between the land and the people.
Some of the programs that we do here can be anything from adult recreation hiking groups, to our summer camp — where we have upwards of 400 kids come through in the course of the summer — and many seasonal opportunities that just change and flex with the season around us.
Lindsey Shaklee (preschool educator): Hello, my name is Lindsey Shacklee, and I am one of the environmental educators here at Beaver Brook.
So I sometimes teach the field trips and do community based programming. But my primary role is as the founder of the Forest Preschool. The Forest Preschool is really a pretty unique program. It's primarily outdoors, about probably 85% of the time. We are found out in the forest somewhere, and this provides some really unique experiences. The kids also not only connect with nature, but connect with each other as well. And they learn so much resilience, especially coming into this winter season where sometimes it's a little chilly outside. But these kids have the right gear, and they're able to still enjoy that experience, and the beauty of being outdoors in winter.
Kellner: The best part of my job is when you meet somebody who's experiencing something here for the first time.
I got a letter yesterday from a person who's joined a hiking group. They're new to the area and she's been here for a year and she said after her hike, she finally felt like 'this' was home.
Everything we do is to appreciate the value of the land that we're on. And every time I connect somebody to an experience here, they understand the value of that land.
To find out more about Beaver Brook Association and their many program offerings, click here.
