Friends of Missisquoi Calendar
Spend the morning helping with some refuge trail maintenance and then enjoy a complimentary lunch on the Friends.
Living in Vermont, we all know about the annual Green Up Day: the first Saturday in May. It’s a great way to give back to your community. At Missisquoi we hold an annual Green Up Day each year as well. However, we hold it on the first Friday of May. This way we can encourage community members to help clean up the refuge and also participate in their local town or city Green Up Day event. This year I hope you consider helping Green Up the refuge!
We will be meeting at the Louie’s Landing Boat Launch off of Route 78, about 3.5 miles west of Swanton at 9:00 am. We will work until noon, then break for lunch. Please dress for the
weather and bring water to drink. We will have gloves, bags, and other supplies for volunteers. For more information please call the refuge office at 802-868-4781.
Immediately after the Live Painting Tutorial, there will be a Meet The Artist Reception where local artists, whose works will be displayed in the Missisquoi Artshow, showcase their refuge, habitat, and bird-themed art. Attendees will have the opportunity to discuss the artists’ methods and ideas about their work. Pieces exhibited at the event will be available for purchase.
The Friends of Missisquoi will again host an art show at the Visitor Center beginning May 17th, World Migratory Bird Day at the Refuge. Enjoy the art of many talented local artists as they display their artwork inspired by local wildlife, habitats, and birds.
All artwork will be displayed in the Visitor Center gallery until July 18th and can be viewed any time the Visitor Center is open. Please call 802-868-4781 to confirm accessibility. The artwork is available for purchase.
Click here for an application to enter your artwork. For more information on participation contact Carol Yarnell at artshow@friendsofmissisquoi.org. Click here for a brochure about the refuge, including a list of birds found there.
Please pass this invitation on to your artist friends.
The theme of this year’s World Migratory Bird Day is
Creating Bird-Friendly Cities & Communities
Please pass this invitation on to your artist friends.
Watch internationally recognized Vermont artist Corliss Blakely bring the refuge to life with a live landscape painting demonstration. Discover her techniques, materials, and artistic vision as she provides a plein air demo at the refuge visitors center on Tabor Rd., for all to
watch and ask questions along the way.
Plein air painting is the practice of painting outdoors, capturing the natural light and scenery directly from observation. This technique became popular in the 19th century, particularly among Impressionist artists who sought to depict the changing qualities of light in their work.
Please register in advance for this event through this link.
The theme of this year’s World Migratory Bird Day is
Creating Bird-Friendly Cities & Communities
The Missisquoi “Marsh Mellows” will again use the observation platform at the Stephen Young Marsh as the center of their 17 ft. diameter circle and try to observe as many bird species as they can from that location during daylight hours. Anyone is welcome to come and join them for any part of the day. Last year 32 species were recorded, but they’ll be shooting for their record of 46 species set in 2018.
You may wonder, what exactly is a Big Sit!? Some call it a “tailgate party for birders.” It’s an annual, international, noncompetitive, extremely sedentary birding event organized by the New Haven (Connecticut) Bird Club. It’s like a Big Day or a bird-a-thon in that the goal is to count as many bird species as possible within a 24-hour period, but with the major restriction that observations must be made from within a 17-foot diameter circle! There are Big Sit! circles all over the world, including Guatemala, India, the Netherlands, England, Vietnam, and New Zealand. Participants can come and go as they please during the day, and the circle need not be occupied for the entire 24 hours. The platform at Stephen Young Marsh is well within the 17-foot limit. Rain date is Sunday, October 12th.
If you have any questions, contact Ken Copenhaver at copenhvr@gmail.com
