Featured Events, Resources, & Opportunities

Hilltown CDC (HCDC) seeks to improve the quality of life for Hilltown residents by addressing economic, housing, education, social, & community needs while preserving the rural character of the area. Thanks to a generous grant from the MGCC, the HCDC offers FREE, confidential business assistance to Hilltown residents! If you’re thinking of starting or growing your business, HCDC can help. They have experts in various areas who can help entrepreneurs get on their feet, including website help, social media marketing, business tax & accounting, legal assistance, & more. Sign up for free virtual classes: hilltowndirectory.com/events. For more info, contact HCDC Economic Development Director Michele Kenney: MicheleK@Hilltowncdc.org; 413-354-1055

List of Weekly Suggested Events

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Self-Directed Learning: Textile Arts/Quilts

Often, math and art are seen as opposites: structure and the lack thereof. However, at the intersection of the two lies quilting: an inherently mathematical art form. The third Saturday in March is recognized as National Quilting Day. Let it be your catalyst for learning! Families can explore everything from shape identification to tessellations by learning to create quilts together! Read more in our post, Quilting Offers Multidisciplinary Exploration of Math and Art.

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Self-Directed Learning: Spring Equinox

In the Northern Hemisphere, the spring equinox falls on March 20 or 21, depending on when the Sun crosses the celestial equator. As we spend the month of March wishing away the snow and scouring the local landscape for the first signs of spring, we often forget to prepare ourselves for the most accurate sign of spring there is … the vernal equinox! Marking the first official day of spring, the vernal equinox is when the Sun is located directly over the Earth’s equator. Along with a shadow-less noontime around the equator, the equinox brings six months of darkness to the south pole and six months of a perpetually visible sun to the north pole. Read more in our post, Celebrate & Learn about the Vernal Equinox at UMass Sunwheel.

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Self-Directed Learning: Poetry

Western Massachusetts has been home to many poets and writers inspired by this region’s remarkable landscapes and natural settings. Since today is National Poetry Day, the spring season is a great time to explore some of the local poets’ homes and writing places from the past. Read more in our post, Poetry & Place in the Hilltowns, and check out our archived column, One Clover & A Bee: Poems for Families to Learn & Love, for more encouragement that supports love for poetry in our children and ourselves.

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Self-Directed Learning: Vernal Pools

Like autumn, spring is a time of transition as habitats and animals begin to respond to the change in weather and climate. Phenology-based activities coincide with the natural changing of our seasons (our ultimate accessible community-based educational resource) and are great catalysts for learning through community engagement. Maple syrup season, filled with delicious community activities and opportunities, is our first harvest of the year, followed by another seasonal event as winter transitions into spring. Vernal Pools! Studies of vernal pools support learning in many areas of interest, and a close look at amphibian reproduction can help spark children’s curiosity about other aspects of amphibian life. Read more in our post, Learning Ahead: Spring Landscape & Vernal Pools.

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Self-Directed Learning: Impermanence

Just before the moment arrives when the memory of cold river plunges on hot summer days becomes faded and difficult to place, the sap begins to run, the snow starts to melt, the vernal pools reemerge, and the spring peepers advertise their arrival with their ear-piercing choruses. The impermanence of winter and its long cold nights is made evident with the change of seasons towards the welcoming arms of summer through these micro-seasons of spring. Memories of the past are alive within every one of us. Experiences become memories, propelling us towards the future, moment by moment. Our perceptions draw the line between all three, defining what is past, what is present, and what is future. Our only hope is to let go of our preconceived notions of what should be and embrace what is. Within the letting go, we may find relief, openness, and forgiveness in a forever-changing world. Welcome, Spring!

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Self-Directed Learning: Stoneflies

Like tiny submariners bursting up and out of the bottom of the brook, breaking into wings and soaring for a short time above the world they once knew, the stoneflies are here, molting from crab-shells they lived in. Learn more in our post, The Ripple: Synchronization of the Watershed Flora & Fauna.

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Self-Directed Learning: Women’s History

Western Massachusetts is home to many women changemakers who have dedicated their lives to enacting social change through the arts, critical inquiry, and learning. Still today, there are many women poets, writers, activists, artists, teachers, educators, and scientists that reside in Western Massachusetts who continue to work towards positive social change, including Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Porter Phelps, and Juanita Nelson. March is Women’s History Month, a national observation that honors and pays tributes to women who dedicated their lives to social justice, the environment, education, and positive change for society. These women are a tiny sample to explore; however, note the incredible number of talented women today in Western Massachusetts that continue to demonstrate the importance of women’s rights. Their grit and perseverance as pioneers are honored during the month of March. Read more in our post, Local Women & Local History: Understanding New England Women’s Lives from the Past.

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Weekly eNewsletter

Online and in-person events and resources shared above are done so as a courtesy and not as an endorsement. While we do our best to share accurate and up-to-date information, please take the time to confirm information, age appropriateness, registration requirements, safety protocols, and associated costs.

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Hilltown Families’ list of Suggested Events is supported in part by grants from the Agawam, Amherst, Becket, Bernardston, Buckland, Chicopee, Colrain, Cummington, Easthampton, Goshen, Granby, Greenfield, Hadley, Hatfield, Heath, Hinsdale/Peru, Huntington, Leyden, Montgomery, Mount Washington, Northern Berkshire, Orange, Otis, Palmer, Pelham, Rowe, Shelburne, Shutesbury, South Hadley, Tolland, Tyringham, Windsor, and Worthington Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.