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African-American Heritage TourWalking ToursThe Black Heritage Trail showcases residences and community buildings associated with a Black community that thrived on, and near, the north slope of Beacon Hill before, during, and after the American Civil War. Throughout that time, this community struggled and organized for equal rights and access to equal education. Community members championed the movement to abolish slavery and even housed freedom seekers on their journey along the Underground Railroad.Fall 2022
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An Autumn WalkWalking ToursMid-autumn is a beautiful time of year as nature begins to prepare for winter. On these walks we’ll focus on plant identification as we search for what is still flowering as well as plants that are in fruit. We’ll also look for winter weeds, those hardy herbaceous (non-woody) plants whose skeletons decorate the autumn and winter landscape. Join a more leisurely walk at Arlington’s Great Meadows (10/23) or a two-and-a-half-mile hike from Wright-Locke Farm to the summit of Whipple Hill (11/16), the highest point in Lexington. Children ages 10+ are welcome to register if accompanied by a registered adult. Please note: Meeting location will be emailed as part of the Registration Confirmation email. All walks meet rain or shine.Fall 2022
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Avenue of the ArtsWalking ToursClustered along a half-mile stretch of Boston’s Huntington Avenue stands a dense concentration of cultural institutions, on what is now designated as the “Avenue of the Arts” and the adjoining Fenway Cultural District. From McKim, Mead & White's Symphony Hall to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, this tour tells the stories of the institutions, architects, and benefactors behind this remarkable concentration of establishments dedicated to the fine and performing arts, culture, education, religion, and sports. Please note: Meeting location will be included in the Course Reminder email. All walks meet rain or shine.Summer 2022
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Bare Trees & Naked Shrubs: Woody Plant ID in WinterWalking ToursNo leaves? No problem! We’ll learn to identify woody plants in winter through a combination of branching patterns, bark, buds, persistent fruits, and galls. We’ll also learn to identify some particularly hardy non-woody weeds which remain standing through winter. We’ll use Arlington’s beautiful Great Meadows as our study site. Our walk will focus on plant identification as well as interesting natural history about the plants we see. Children ages 10 and up are welcome to register if accompanied by a registered adult. Please note: Meeting location will be emailed as part of the Registration Confirmation email. All walks meet rain or shine.Fall 2022
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Birdwatching 101: What to Know Before You GoWalking ToursMaximize your enjoyment and appreciation of birds in their local environment. We’ll include necessary and recommended tools (binoculars, scopes, bird books, and phone applications), how to pick a place and a time for ideal birdwatching, and strategies for identifying birds using their appearance, flight patterns, songs and calls, and the habitats in which they live and migrate through.Fall 2022
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Birdwatching Field Trip at Halibut Point State ParkWalking ToursHalibut Point State Park, at the tip of Cape Ann in Rockport, is a premier winter birdwatching destination. Seabirds that breed in the upper latitudes during the warm months spend their winter off these rocky shores. Birders willing to brave the cold have the opportunity to see and learn about a variety of waterfowl, alcids, and shorebirds, such as Scoters, Purple Sandpipers, Razorbills, and Murres. To get the most out of this field trip, attendance at the Birdwatching 101: What to Know Before You Go class is highly encouraged. Please note: Binoculars are highly recommended, and scopes are encouraged.Fall 2022
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Don Miller (flickr) (CC BY 2.0)Birdwatching at Arlington ReservoirWalking ToursTake a two-hour birdwatching field trip of about 1.25 miles around the Arlington Reservoir. While fall birdwatching isn’t as colorful and song-filled as spring birdwatching, there are still treasures to be found. Learn different strategies for locating and identifying birds based on their appearance, songs and calls, behavior, and habitat. To get the most out of this field trip, attendance at the Birdwatching 101: What to Know Before You Go class is highly encouraged. Please note: Binoculars are highly recommended, and scopes are encouraged.Fall 2022
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Charlie Gibson House Museum: At Home with the GibsonsWalking ToursThe Gibson House is a historic house museum located in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. Now a National Historic Landmark, the home served as residence to three generations of Gibson family members and their household staff between 1859 and 1954. The Museum’s four floors of period rooms, including the original kitchen, are a time capsule of domestic life in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This private tour of the museum invites visitors to explore the house and consider issues of class and culture through the stories and objects of the people who lived and worked there.Fall 2022
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Chinatown Food TourWalking ToursBoston’s Chinatown is filled with so many little shops and restaurants—it’s easy to get lost amid its colorful window displays and enticing aromas. Our journey begins in the heart of Chinatown, where we’ll learn about its history while stopping at a few shops and bakeries for samples. Next, we’ll visit a Chinese herbal shop to examine traditional Chinese medicinal remedies, before touring a Chinese market to explore exotic produce and other unique offerings. We’ll also try dim sum from a traditional and popular restaurant. Please note: Meeting location will be emailed one week prior to the tour. All walks meet rain or shine. Covid-depending, we'll eat either in the restaurant, outdoors, or as take home. Dim sum dishes often contain pork or shrimp, and they are not gluten free. Tuition covers all restaurant fees and tips.Fall 2022
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Fall Mystery WalksWalking ToursDiscover new places to hike and hear tales about Native American settlers and esteemed writers such as Alcott and Emerson. We walk four to five miles each week, rain or shine. Enjoy the camaraderie of fellow walkers as we learn and have fun. Please note: Meeting location will be emailed as part of your receipt. Weather cancellations are made up at the end of the session as needed.Fall 2022
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Fall Wildflowers at The Autumn EquinoxWalking ToursIn New England, autumn is the season of clear blue skies, beautiful leaf color, migrating birds, and bountiful crops of apples. Autumn arrives with the autumnal equinox, one of two days during the year when days and nights are of equal length everywhere on earth, which occurs this year on September 22. Come celebrate the equinox and welcome in the new season at Arlington’s Great Meadows. We’ll talk a little about why the seasons occur, why day length changes from season to season, and celebrate the equinox through poetry and readings. But mainly, we’ll talk about the plants we see, especially those that are in flower and fruit at this time of year. Children ages 10+ are welcome to register if accompanied by a registered adult. Please note: Meeting location will be emailed as part of the Registration Confirmation email. All walks meet rain or shine.Fall 2022
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Harvard Square Chocolate TourWalking ToursLearn local history and all about chocolate. Throughout this walking tour we’ll make four stops, including a lesson in how to taste chocolate. We’ll sample delicious local ice cream from an independent store, and try unique chocolate desserts such as baked goods and specialty hot chocolate. Sip cacao juice directly from the chocolate fruit, and sample roasted cacao beans. All ages welcome.Fall 2022
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Nic McPhee (flickr) (CC BY 2.0)Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Questioning PowerWalking ToursIsabella Gardner filled her museum with portraits of princes and queens, and was herself a dynamic leader. Learn more about the museum’s founder through the personalities she collected, and investigate how power has been represented in the art of different time periods and cultures. Please note: Please register early for this tour–we must close registration on 10/7.Fall 2022
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Pablo Trincado (flickr) (CC BY 2.0)Mt. Pleasant Cemetery Tour: Unstoppable PersonalitiesWalking ToursThe peaceful landscape of Mt. Pleasant Cemetery is a sacred testimony to past generations. But the monuments, whether government-issued or decorated marble, can only hint at the complexities of the departed. This September stroll, led by a local historian, will acknowledge some men and women who embraced singular life journeys. We will visit, among others, Thomas D. Ryan (b.1842), a grieving young widower; Florian D. Record (b. 1859), a joyful clarinet player in J. P. Sousa’s band; and Elizabeth Nickola (b. 1822), an enterprising housewife and saloon keeper.Fall 2022
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Nubian SquareWalking ToursEnjoy an afternoon discovering the food, history, and culture of Nubian Square, an epicenter of African-American culture since the 1960s. Learn about some of Roxbury’s historical figures who fought for justice and equality for the people of this neighborhood. Hear stories of business owners of color who have continued to create generational wealth despite the systemic oppression they faced. Visit John Elliot Square and the Dillaway Thomas House, one of the oldest houses in Boston and an integral part of the Siege of Boston during the Revolutionary War. Learn the history of places like the First Church in Roxbury, the Cox Building, and the Norfolk House. Exclusive to this tour, view some of Roxbury’s street art. Then enjoy a Jamaican veggie or beef patty and ice cream from one of the best Jamaican restaurants in Boston (included in tuition). Please note: Tuition includes all food fees and tips.Fall 2022
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Off-the-Beaten-Path HikesWalking ToursSpend some time outdoors this fall and join one or both of these guided hikes to locations you might not have visited before. As we explore these extraordinary sites, we’ll take time to gaze at the natural formations we encounter and hear stories of historical significance along the way. All of the hikes are easy to moderate. Bring water and snacks to have throughout the hike to keep energy levels up. Please note: Meeting location will be emailed before the first meeting. All walks meet rain or shine. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes and bring water and snacks to have throughout the hike.Fall 2022
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Port NorfolkWalking ToursPort Norfolk is one of the southernmost neighborhoods of Boston, just across the Neponset River from Milton and Quincy. It was a center of manufacturing in the late 1800s, with companies such as Stearns Lumber and Putnam Nail supplying the city’s building boom with nails (for horses and housing), lumber, and other manufactured products. The port was also the site of the George P. Lawley shipyard, where subchasers (hunters of German U-boats) were built for service during the latter half of WWI and beautiful yachts of all configurations and sizes were designed and fabricated during the Boston yachting craze in the late 1880s. A number of buildings still remain and we’ll discuss the past and present uses of the structures. We will explore the Neponset Trail and make our way to Joseph Finnegan Park and the mouth of the Neponset River.Fall 2022
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WaitlistRoyall House & Slave QuartersWalking ToursTour the house and grounds of Medford’s Royall House and Slave Quarters, part of the 600-acre Ten Hills Farm and home to the largest slaveholders in Massachusetts history, as well as the enslaved Africans who made their lavish way of life possible. The house is among the finest local examples of colonial-era buildings still standing and the slave quarters are the only remaining slave quarters in New England. Today this museum’s architecture, household items, and archaeological artifacts bear witness to intertwined stories of wealth and bondage and explore the meanings of freedom and independence before, during, and since the American Revolution.Fall 2022
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PopularShinrin-Yoku (Forest Bathing): Not Just Any Walk in the WoodsWalking ToursExperience a deep nature connection on this guided forest bathing retreat. Peel the layers of stress away and support healing and wellbeing by experiencing the medicine of the forest. We’ll do a series of relaxing activities to engage our senses, deepen nature connection, hone intuition, and connect with the natural world around us. This walk covers a total distance of about 1.5 miles on a well-maintained but at times uneven trail. Please note: The exact meeting location will be emailed as part of your Registration Confirmation email. Wear comfortable clothing and appropriate footwear for walking. All walks meet rain or shine (rain often enhances sensory experience and makes for some of our most memorable walks.) Middlesex Fells Reservation, Stoneham: Sept. 25 Hapgood Wright Town Forest, Concord: Oct. 16Fall 2022
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The Dark Side of BostonWalking ToursOn this tour through the North End’s winding streets and alleyways, you will hear tales of misery, misfortune, and murder. These dark stories are all based on true historical events that have occurred in Boston. Learn about the Great Influenza of 1918, outbreaks of smallpox, the Molasses Flood, and the infamous Brink’s Robbery against the backdrop of Boston’s oldest neighborhood. Exploring the North End is always a delight. It’s even better when investigating stories from Boston’s checkered past—just in time for Halloween! Ages 10+Fall 2022
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The North End: Boston’s Immigration GatewayWalking ToursDiscover the charm of this unique, compact city space that has been home to immigrants for 400 years. Learn what brought waves of people from Ireland, Eastern Europe, and Italy to the North End; the difficulties they faced when they arrived; and how they made a difference in their new home. This tour begins at the waterfront and weaves through Boston’s famous crooked and narrow streets. It will end in the heart of the North End, the perfect spot to enjoy an Italian treat after the tour. Ages 10+ Please note: This class covers .9 miles and traverses some narrow sidewalks and uneven bricked terrain. If anyone has mobility issues, we can give the guide a heads up so they can be sure to accommodate as best as possible.Fall 2022
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The Winter Solstice ApproachesWalking ToursCelebrate the season of the winter solstice, the time of year when the midday sun is at its lowest point in the sky, resulting in the shortest day (and the longest night) of the year. Walk in Arlington’s Great Meadows to enjoy the beauty of nature as winter approaches. As usual, our focus will be on plant identification and natural history. The program will also include solstice history and lore, poetry, and a solstice story. Children ages 10+ are welcome to register if accompanied by a registered adult. Please note: Meeting location will be emailed as part of the Registration Confirmation email. All walks meet rain or shine.Fall 2022
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Tree IdentificationWalking Tours“I think that I shall never see/ A poem lovely as a tree.” The trees of New England are both beautiful and an essential part of our landscape. This course will introduce you to common trees of New England, emphasizing tree ID as well as natural history. Children ages 10+ are welcome to register if accompanied by a registered adult. Please note: Meeting location will be emailed as part of the Registration Confirmation email. All walks meet rain or shine.Fall 2022
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WaitlistUrban ForagingWalking ToursTasty wild plants grow abundantly in the area, many of which we walk right by without ever knowing they are there. Upgrade your knowledge of the wild greens readily available for foraging by joining a plant expert on a ramble through an urban wild. You’ll learn how to identify dozens of edible wild plants and how they can add significantly to your culinary and nutritional repertoire. We’ll also discuss cooking options, seasons of availability, and guidelines for safe and environmentally-responsible foraging. You’ll be amazed at the amount of greens, nuts, roots, and mushrooms that you can find now and over the next couple of months. Sampling in the field will be encouraged. Children ages 10+ are welcome to register if accompanied by a registered adult. Please note: Meeting location will be emailed one week prior to class. All walks meet rain or shine. For those interested in learning more about this subject, the guide’s book, Urban Foraging, will be available.Fall 2022
