Upcoming Events
Sept. 5 (Sunday)
2:00 to 3:15 p.m.
Monarch Release Celebration at Fresh Pond Reservation
Green Cambridge's kamishibai stories about local species, developed with artist and performer Yumi Izuyama, will be featured at this event at the reservation, 250 Fresh Pond Parkway, Cambridge. This is the seventh annual event in which live monarch butterflies are raised and released by the City of Cambridge into the urban wild. You can view the caterpillars' progress in the Fresh Pond Ranger Station until the release.
SCHEDULE:
See the butterflies up close and personal, make some crafts, earn a Jr. Ranger badge, and learn about Monarch Butterflies from 2:00-2:30 at the Butterfly Headquarters behind the building. At 2:15, Storyteller Yumi Izuyama will perform "A Monarch Finds Her Home in Cambridge," developed in collaboration with Green Cambridge.
March down to the native meadow of Kingsley Park with us at 2:30 for a 2:35 release of all of the butterflies that were raised by rangers and volunteers.
At 3:00, Yumi will tell another new story created in collaboration with Green Cambridge—the story is set in an urban garden where lots of families grow their vegetables.
Hang out afterward, watch the Monarchs fly, and complete your free Jr. Ranger activity booklet for a badge!
SCHEDULE:
See the butterflies up close and personal, make some crafts, earn a Jr. Ranger badge, and learn about Monarch Butterflies from 2:00-2:30 at the Butterfly Headquarters behind the building. At 2:15, Storyteller Yumi Izuyama will perform "A Monarch Finds Her Home in Cambridge," developed in collaboration with Green Cambridge.
March down to the native meadow of Kingsley Park with us at 2:30 for a 2:35 release of all of the butterflies that were raised by rangers and volunteers.
At 3:00, Yumi will tell another new story created in collaboration with Green Cambridge—the story is set in an urban garden where lots of families grow their vegetables.
Hang out afterward, watch the Monarchs fly, and complete your free Jr. Ranger activity booklet for a badge!
Sept. 26 (Sunday)
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Get Ready to Honk! with Cambridge Wildlife Arts
Volunteer to apply your skills with duct tape, wing nuts, bits of wood ,and needle and thread to enable Cambridge Wildlife Arts' local creatures in giant form to once again participate in the Honk! Parade. This is a repair-and-construction workshop for adult and teen volunteers. Rewards? The glory of restoring a giant representation of a local animal and a couple of hours spent in good company with shared purpose—promoting environmental stewardship through the arts. Pre-register on Eventbrite for this limited-capacity event.
The task list includes: our butterfly and moth stick puppets are getting old, and they need some holes in their delicate wings repaired and resealed; our Northern Cardinal giant puppet needs a new neck apparatus.
If you have construction, engineering, sewing, or artistic skills, or are generally good with making things from scratch, we're inviting you to spend part of your morning in a congenial outdoor setting at Fresh Pond Reservation to prepare and repairing our puppets. Sign up with a friend, neighbor, or family member. Teenagers can receive documented volunteer hours.
The task list includes: our butterfly and moth stick puppets are getting old, and they need some holes in their delicate wings repaired and resealed; our Northern Cardinal giant puppet needs a new neck apparatus.
If you have construction, engineering, sewing, or artistic skills, or are generally good with making things from scratch, we're inviting you to spend part of your morning in a congenial outdoor setting at Fresh Pond Reservation to prepare and repairing our puppets. Sign up with a friend, neighbor, or family member. Teenagers can receive documented volunteer hours.
October 10 (Sunday)
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
March with Cambridge Wildlife in the Honk! Parade
We invite Cambridge individuals and families to march as Cambridge wildlife species in the annual Honk! Parade from Davis Square to Harvard Square. In 2021, the event will feature only local bands and community groups, due to COVID-19 precautions. Check our Facebook page for updates as the parade day nears!
Past Events
Fifth Annual Fly, Buzz, and Hop! Festival: Friday, August 6, 10:00–6:00
Kids and families and camping groups enjoyed beautiful sunny weather, the shade trees of Joan Lorentz Park, and arts-based activities all celebrating our Cambridge wildlife species and outdoor habitats.
For the first time, the festival featured a Cambridge Outdoor Reading Team, with read-alouds on a nature theme from (top row, left to right) Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui, actor and CRLS graduate Keith Mascoll, Deputy Superintendent of Cambridge Public Schools Dr. Carolyn Turk; (bottom row, left to right) Director of the Cambridge Public Library Maria McCauley, Executive Director of the Cambridge YWCA Tania Del Rio, and CPS Family Engagement Specialist Debbie Bonilla. Mayor Siddiqui read Fatima's Great Outdoors, by Ambreen Tariq and illustrated by Stevie Lewis.
Fly, Buzz, and Hop! featured two musical groups in 2021, including Jeff Robinson, saxophone, and Blake Newman, bass.
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Band Land Brass Band at the festival.
Pure Green Augochlora, a kind of native "Sweat" bee, photographed in Cambridge by Mike Mulqueen; Below, example of a model or puppet of this species made by kids at this year's festival.
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Alewife Explorations and Observations
Sunday, May 2, 2021, 12:00–3:00 p.m.
This was a local species identification event, part of the global City Nature Challenge, held near Alewife Station, Rindge Ave, and Jerry's Pond.
All families/youth were invited to stop by our table for guidance in participating by identifying organisms on iNaturalist.
All families/youth were invited to stop by our table for guidance in participating by identifying organisms on iNaturalist.
Why and and how we blend local environmental education and the arts: Click on image.