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School and Group Programs

Group Programs

Situated in the heart of Cape Cod, Mass Audubon’s Long Pasture, Ashumet Holly, Skunknett River and Sampsons Island Wildlife Sanctuaries encompass a variety of Cape Cod's most critical habitats including barrier beaches, coastal plain ponds, salt marshes, cedar swamps and vernal pools. 

Long Pasture, with its central location and burgeoning visitor center is the base of our mid Cape operations.  The Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary is a spectacular 110-acre sanctuary on Cape Cod Bay, featuring 2.5 miles of trails through woods, salt marsh, fields and freshwater pond, tidal creek, and sandy beach habitats.

Environmental education programs are offered for all ages. We maintain a ratio of one naturalist to 20 participants in an outdoor setting, with a smaller ratio recommended for younger groups.

Our Education Coordinator, Jodie Montoya, is available by phone or email to assist both teachers and students with any natural history questions or to schedule a program.  Call 508-362-7475 Ext 9355.

Visit Long Pasture for naturalist-led, hands-on learning
Field Walks
1.5 to 2 hours, 20 people per naturalist, $90 per hour per naturalist (1.5 hour minimum). Discounts are given to programs scheduled off-season (Oct. 15-April 15). Our most popular walks include, but are not limited to, the following:

Outdoor Nature Experiences

• Explore Cape Cod By Kayak - Mass Audubon’s Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary offers a variety of naturalist guided kayak trips throughout the Mid and Upper Cape. Join our experienced naturalists as we escape the crowds and discover the rich aquatic life and beauty of Cape Cod.
  
  Kayaking offers a unique and intimate connection to wildlife that is truly memorable. Choose from some of the Cape’s most pristine waterways including Barnstable Harbor’s Great Marsh and Sandy Neck barrier beach ecosystem, the Herring River in Harwich, Chase Garden Creek in Yarmouth Port and the Mashpee River in Mashpee. Kayaks, paddles and life vests provided.
  
  
• Specialty Kayak Trips – Groups may choose trips which focus on particular topics, such as birding or osprey observation.
  
  
• Overnight Kayak Trip on Sandy Neck - Join us for a unique adventure on one of Cape Cod’s most beautiful natural settings. Launching from Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary, we will make the short paddle out to Sandy Neck, experiencing shore birds, tidal flats and the Sandy Neck Light House. We will take a twilight walk through the diverse habitats including dunes, cranberry bogs and salt marsh. Following dinner and campfire under the stars we will retreat to our campsites amongst the dunes. The following morning, we will discover unique plants found on Sandy Neck. Dinner and breakfast provided. Kayaks, paddles and life vests are also provided.
  
  
• Discover Odonates (Dragonflies and Damselfies) – Join us for a guided walk to learn about the fascinating aquatic and terrestrial phases of odonate life. These colorful creatures are living barometers of the health of our ecosystems.
  
  
• Secrets of the Sands (Tidal Flat Exploration) - Learn to read the signs of the tidal flats, such as twisting trails, holes, and mud piles, that reveal how creatures live, walk, eat and burrow down under. We will explore the shore with dip nets, digging tools, and magnifiers to discover creatures and uncover their secrets for survival in an environment inundated twice daily by the tide.
  
  
• Birding For Beginners – For those who have always wanted to know, “What’s that bird,” this walk offers skills on how to recognize birds through color, shape, size, markings, songs, and behavior.  
  
  
• Birding Popponesset Spit - Stroll the sands of Popponesset Spit in search of terns, endangered piping plovers, and their relatives. In this short stretch of narrow and exposed barrier beach along the southern coast of Cape Cod, you may encounter the ritualized courtship behaviors of roseate terns, see the camouflaged nests of plovers, and observe many shorebird species foraging at low tide. Discover how these diminutive creatures survive the windswept conditions of the spit.
  
  
•  Tracking on Sandy Neck - Search trails and dunes for clues to the wildlife that inhabits this remarkable ecosystem. We may discover tracks and signs of creatures including coyote, fox, raccoon, shorebirds, and Diamondback Terrapin Turtles.
  
  
• Butterflies of Cape Cod – Wander  into old pastures, ideal butterfly habitat, and become inspired with a  love of Lepidoptera. We will see several of Cape Cod’s 76 species, such as the Monarch, Painted Lady, and Red Admiral and learn the visual clues of cryptic coloration, wing patterns, eyespots and fringe. We will also discover the miracle of metamorphosis from larvae to chrysalis to adult.
  
  
•  Recognizing Invasive Species -   Learn to recognize invasive species, such as phragmites and bittersweet, and the damage they are doing to native plants and wildlife. We will discuss management practices that you can adopt in your own community.
  
  
• Vernal Pool Exploration - From deep, subterranean hibernation burrows in the woodlands of Cape Cod, spotted salamanders emerge after a long day of warm spring rain for a virtually undetected trek to vernal pools. There they perform a mysterious nuptial dance and then just as invisibly journey back to the moist shelter of logs and leaves. Join us as we explore critical vernal pools and seek salamanders, wood frogs, egg masses, and other creatures.  Learn how your group can volunteer to certify and protect these fragile ecosystems.

Indoor Presentations (Power Point)
$75 for day time/local presentation
$100 for day time/non-local presentation
$100 for evening/local presentation
$150 for evening/non-local presentation
(Local includes towns of Barnstable, Sandwich, Bourne, Falmouth, Yarmouth, Mashpee and Dennis)
We offer a small and growing number of presentations with grade level appropriate slides/images, specimens, and demonstrations. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Reptiles and Amphibians of Cape Cod – Our Hidden Treasures:  An exploration of the various herpetofauna of Cape Cod including their natural histories, amazing adaptations, and conservation status.
  
  
• Coastal Water Birds – Summer Beach Goers:  An overview of Massachusetts’s Coastal Water birds, highlighting the rare birds of Cape Cod’s coastline such as Piping Plovers and Least Terns.
  
  
• The Nature of Mass Audubon’s Mid and Upper Cape Sanctuaries: Situated in the heart of Cape Cod, Mass Audubon’s Mid and Upper Cape Sanctuaries encompass a variety of Cape Cod's most critical habitats including barrier beaches, coastal plain ponds, salt marshes, cedar swamps and vernal pools.  This presentation explores what makes these habitats so special and highlights some of the rare plant and animal species within them.  We also provide ways one can become more involved in conservation of these habitats through Mass Audubon.
  
  
• Vernal Pools:  Our Backyard Ecosystems:  Vernal Pools are scattered around the Cape Cod landscape and are home to a variety of secretive creatures.  These creatures have amazing stories to tell.  This presentation is intended for spring time. 
  
  
• Salt Marsh Ecology:  Salt Marshes are one of the most biologically rich communities in North America and are nurseries for many of the fish and shellfish Cape Coder’s rely so much upon.  Salt Marshes are also invaluable for their pollution prevention and storm and flood reduction.  With increasing coastal development, many of Cape Cod’s Salt marshes have become degraded.  Learn more about these rich habitats, the creatures within them, and how to help protect them.
  
  
• Horseshoe Crab Ecology:  Horseshoe Crabs have been around for 350  million years, adapting to and withstanding every conceivable change time has presented.  They have a critical role in the lives of the Red Knot, a migratory shorebird, and are important to biomedical research and the pharmaceutical industry.  Learn about their life histories and recent decline in North America.
  
  
• The Asian Turtle Crisis:  The 300 species of turtles worldwide are in trouble!  Almost half are conservation concerns.  This is a greater proportion than for any other vertebrate on the planet.  The most diverse and threatened turtles occur across Asia, where virtually all species are harvested for traditional medicinal trades.  Learn more about the plight of these enigmatic creatures and the recent success stories involving their conservation. 
  
  
• Magnificent Ospreys: These birds of prey, also known as fishhawks, are living upon their platforms along Cape Cod marshes and waterways. Discover their amazing abilities and life history, how they have recovered from the DDT years, and how Mass Audubon is monitoring their nests in hopes of attracting more Ospreys to Cape Cod.
  
  
• The Hollies of Ashumet: experience a photographic journey through Mass Audubon’s Ashumet Holly Wildlife Sanctuary in Falmouth, home to one of the largest holly plantations in New England.  Ashumet is home to more than 65 types of hollies, ranging from American, Asian and European specimens, as well as the rare Franklinia tree. Learn about the sanctuaries 50 original holly varieties developed by Wilfrid Wheeler, the state’s first Agriculture Commissioner and renowned “Holly Man”.  Hear the history of these revered trees, and the fascinating natural history of this beautiful sanctuary.