20 Rock Point Road
Burlington, VT 05408
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Classes & Programs
We offer a variety of classes, workshops, & programs. Browse our offerings here and check out our calendar for special events and collaborations.
Tending Rock Point
Tending Rock Point is a series of workshops where we practice collaborative stewardship and reciprocity with the land at Rock Point. By integrating agricultural activities and ecological restoration throughout the year, we take a holistic view of land stewardship and find our place as humans in the ecology of Rock Point. In each session, we will spend part of our time learning about a topic and the rest of the time working on a project together.
Workshops
These are all on Saturdays from 10am-1pm. Registration and details for each will be posted on our calendar page.
February 21 - Maple Tapping
April 18 - Orchard Pruning w/ Jacob Holzberg-Pill
April 25 - Prepping the Garden
May 9 - Perennial Planting & Propagation
May 16 - Forest Care (non-native species management)
June 6 - Sheep & Meadows
July 11 - Trail Maintenance & Protecting Rare Plants
August 8 - Harvesting and Food Processing
October 17 - Buckthorn Bonanza
Regular Volunteer Days
Join us every other week on Wednesday afternoons from 3:30-5:30pm to help with tending the land between workshops. Tasks may include gardening, non-native species management, trail maintenance, and more. Sign-up here:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E49A8AC2FA2F4C61-63532665-tending#/
Reading Rock Point: A 5-part Naturalist Class
Registration is now open for Reading Rock Point 2026-2027!
Reading Rock Point is designed to give you a basic framework and skill set for reading and connecting with landscapes around Vermont and beyond. We will cover geology, plant and tree identification, human history, wildlife tracking, and how to piece these together into a story of a place. Our story will begin over 500 millions years ago when "Vermont" was a tropical ocean floor, and we'll see how this bedrock story gives way to the mosaic of natural communities we see around the state. Each plant, tree, animal, and rock we identify comes with its own story and invitation to engage our senses and connect deeper with a place and those that inhabit it.
Location: All classes take place at Rock Point and Arms Forest in Burlington, VT. We'll typically meet at Rock Point Center at 20 Rock Point Road.
Dates & Times: This course includes 5 field days, each scheduled on a Sunday from 10am-3pm. By spreading our sessions throughout the year, we'll learn the landscape in each season and reinforce the information and skills over time. If you're not able to make it to a session, let me know! You'll at least be provided with resources and on occasion I may be able to schedule a shortened make-up walk.
Saturday Morning Bird Walks
Join us for our weekly bird walks at Rock Point!
Led by local birder and naturalist Lachlan Ziegler, we'll explore the birds of Rock Point together each Saturday. All experience levels are welcome: whether you want to hone your bird identification skills or simply enjoy their beauty and song, join us for this weekly gathering to experience birds together throughout the seasons.
Please meet us at Rock Point Center, located at 20 Rock Point Road in Burlington. Dress for the weather and feel free to bring any resources you’d like, such as binoculars, scopes, field guides, and apps such as Merlin and eBird. We will have a few binoculars and other resources available as needed.
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Full Moon Ceremonies
A monthly practice of connecting with moon cycles and other beings through poetry, natural history, animism, journaling, and song.
Humans have a long history of tracking the moon and connecting its cycles with natural events throughout the year. In many Native American cultures, the thirteen sections on a turtle's back represent the thirteen moons of the year, each with a variety of names that describe natural occurrences of that time of year.
Join us at Rock Point for this free monthly ceremony to welcome each full moon in 2025. We start by sharing with each other the seasonal changes we've been noticing. Then our facilitator, Tyler, shares some poetry and natural history related to the current moon cycle. We do some journaling, a short guided meditation, and then we finish by heading outside to be with the moon and forest and sing together.
Monthly Insect Pollinator Walks
Join us for monthly walks focused on observing the insect pollinators of Rock Point!
Led by naturalist Lorna Dielentheis, this monthly event is like a bird walk-- but for insects! Bring your insect nets, cameras, binoculars, or even just your smart phone. We'll explore various natural communities around Rock Point and look closely at their insect inhabitants, with a special focus on pollinators. We'll document what we see and submit observations to community science efforts such as VCE's Vermont Butterfly Atlas and Pollinator Interactions on Plants project.
We'll meet the third Saturday of each month, unless otherwise noted (in June we'll meet on the second Saturday). Meet at Rock Point Center, located at 20 Rock Point Road. Parking is available outside the Center.
Monthly Nature Journaling
Join this monthly practice of observation, writing, and drawing together!
Nature journaling is a great way to slow down, look closely, and become familiar with the phenology of our local landscapes. In this monthly drop-in series, we'll spend an hour at a sit spot observing and journaling throughout the seasons. A prompt will be provided but participants are encouraged to follow their curiousity and focus on whatever interests them. At the end of the session, participants will have the option to share their work and reflect.
We will meet on the second Wednesday of each month, 10am at Rock Point Center, unless otherwise noted (July's session will be held on the third Wednesday, July 15th). No drawing experience required. Please bring your own journals, writing/drawing supplies, and a camp chair if you don't want to sit on the ground. This series is led by artist and naturalist Lorna Dielentheis.