Kestrel Educational Adventures

06/17/2026

Dear Friends of Kestrel: We would love to have a couple of volunteers to help us prepare our supplies for camp. This entails organizing supplies, packing gear, and making camper kits. There are jobs that would be great for teens as well as adults.

ALL of Kestrel's staff are educators; we have no office staff. Our educators would love some help as we have a lot to do before camp starts in less than 3 weeks.

Will trade help for s'mores supplies! Get in touch if you or your teen would like to help us sometime in the next two weeks. Thank you!

06/17/2026

We had an amazing turnout this year at the 2026 Student Work Showcase! Although we couldn’t have a campfire for our smores, we still had a fantastic fire demonstration (credit to Mark Maitland for his fire skills) and we made do with unheated “deconstructed” smores. We also had live pond animals thanks to our Conservation Club and a track bandana making activity (credit to Ben Flemer for his tracking skills) ! We had probably the busiest season since we were founded, and this really shown with the multitude of beautiful work in the building. All that was on display, from kids of different schools and ages, demonstrated a deep connection with wildlife and the land, as well as the process of coming to understand our local ecosystems, habitats, and life cycles.
From the children proudly showing off their work, to the city counselors, to interested members of the public, to conservation commission staff, and to the representatives from our funding agencies, we want to thank you for attending and taking time out of your busy schedules to reinforce just how important nature is to us all!
🌲🌷🌿🌤

06/06/2026

Please join us Tuesday at Camp Paradise from 4-6pm for the Student Work Showcase! There will be many pieces of student work highlighting life in the Camp Paradise wetlands and surrounding woods, as well as pieces interpreting the natural world at other North Shore properties.

The Conservation Club kids made sketches of how they would like to see the nature center laid out, which we will display at our event on Tuesday.

We will also have skill building activities for both kids and adults, and donated (free) food from Bonny Breads and Whole Foods, in addition to s'mores. Most of the event will be museum style, with guests walking around visiting exhibits, and we will have a 15 minute presentation period in the middle. Bring your friends! We would appreciate if you could register in advance using the QR code on the invitation.

06/02/2026

We spent all afternoon with the Manchester Memorial School 3rd graders doing pond science at Dexter Pond. The kids were tasked with finding at least four different kinds of animals, drawing them in detail, and using their own drawings to identify them. They then had to try to figure out what life stage they were in. We found so many animals! Next up, on Friday each student will select an animal they observed in the wild and make a page describing how to identify it, and how it changes during its life.

05/12/2026

05/02/2026

We developed a new animal behavior program for the Manchester and Essex 4th graders. At Kestrel, doing challenging, authentic, meaningful science learning is compatible with being a kid and moving and exploring all day. Our mission was to explore the woods, finding animals and closely observing their behaviors and bodies to figure out how each behavior is made possible.

Our amazing 4th graders were able to notice so much fine detail that they broke down the cadence of salamander movements foot by foot, and watched the way millipedes wave their many legs. They used binoculars to observe the movements of crow's wings and goldfinch hops from tree to tree.

Next week they will be turning their field observations into comic strips and we're looking forward to it!

**Note: If you child enjoyed this program, they will probably love our Woodland Seekers nature camp this summer. Check it out!**

04/28/2026

UPDATE: Thank you so much everyone! Someone turned all our gear into the Manchester police station. Apparently it was taken by accident.

Please share!

This morning, our staff team was at Dexter Pond in Manchester preparing for our fourth grade scientists to join us for a wildlife behavior study. We put a box down with our gear right by the parking area. Someone took 8 pairs of our Nikon Monarch binoculars, with white numbers on them, and three bright yellow Motorola Talkabout T400 radios out of the box while we were gone just a few minutes checking to make sure the trails weren't flooded. We're hoping it was a mistake and someone thought they were giveaways, even though they were in a box labeled "MMES field." If you have them, have seen them, or know who has them, please return our gear. We need them for the many more classes we have this week and the rest of the season. No questions asked, just bring it back. Please! Thank you.

04/15/2026

Yesterday, we spent the morning at Essex Elementary School making models that show the specific resources that specific animal species would find in Chebacco Woods, using the students' field notes from our hike last week. Then we spent the afternoon with the Rockport 5th graders, who mapped out their own woods showing how specific predators would get all energy they need, starting with the sun flowing into specific plant and tree species. The maps are made using entirely field evidence the students documented through sightings, track and sign, and trail cameras.

We take kids outside because specific places matter. Specific species matter. Learning how species are supported by the wilds in each town forges deep connection and understanding. We have the kids use their field data to do original project work because that is what scientists do - And they are scientists. Their work matters, and each of their pieces can educate viewers on connections they learned in the field.

Enjoy!

04/11/2026

Kestrel's Survival Camp and Woodland Seekers Camp give campers unfettered exploration of nature, skills they can teach their families, and direct, muddy, wild connection to the natural world. Guided by stories and led by professional naturalists, campers learn to make fires and shelters, track animals, keep a nature journal, and plan hikes. Our organic and flexible schedules allow campers to stay with an activity as long as they are interested and build true connection to each other and to splendid hidden spots in the forest. Visit our website to learn more and enroll today.

03/21/2026

Last night we teamed up with Green Beverly, and had a record turnout for amphibian crossing brigade volunteers. We set up posts on both Common Lane and on Boyles Street. It was a bit of a slow night for frogs and salamanders, but there was a migration nonetheless. We stayed several hours and crossed dozens of peepers and wood frogs and 2 spotted salamanders. Many thanks to Dean Berg and the Green Beverly volunteers, and to the amazing Officer Stephen O'Brien, who was at least as excited about salamanders as the rest of us were, and he kept us safe to boot. We're still waiting for everyone to finish entering their save numbers and we will post an update once they're all in. In the meantime, enjoy these photos! Protect the wetlands; wetlands are special places. Education is conservation!