Featured Events, Resources, & Opportunities

Pioneer Valley Performing Arts (PVPA) Charter Public School in South Hadley is committed to supporting the Artist in every student. Students from over 50 towns in grades 7-12 thrive in an arts-centered, creative, challenging learning environment. PVPA is now accepting applications for the 2022-23 school year. Application deadline is July 22. Lottery will be held Aug 1, for grades 7 & 11 only. Applications will be accepted for grades 7-11. Per state regulations, they will hold onto any applications for students in grades 8-10 until the time that their current waitlist for those grades is exhausted. If/ when that time comes, they will give at least one week’s notice to announce a lottery for the grade w/openings. More info: admissions@pvpa.org.

Hilltown Mobile Market is back for a 4th season! This year, they are operating an online store of products from 20 Hilltown farmers & producers where you can shop weekly for freshly harvested produce, meat, dairy, eggs & pantry items. Ordering will be packed & delivered to 18 pickup locations throughout the Hilltowns with convenient hours. They are also offering choice-based Farm Shares where you can spend down your balance throughout the season whenever & however it works for you! Share options range from $150 – $500, with a fully reimbursable option for those with SNAP/HIP. The Market will also be offering door delivery for residents at Westhampton Woods, Hamblin Court, Highland Village Circle, Hillside Terrance, Nash Hill, & The Maples.

List of Weekly Suggested Events

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Self-Directed Learning: Ornithology/Birds Nests

As honeyberries and gooseberries come into fruit, the catbirds and robins are little thieves in the middle of the day, stripping the fruit and leaving homesteaders frustrated and contemplating berry netting next season. And as raspberries transition from blossom to fruit, ruby-throated hummingbirds visit patches throughout the day. High in the treetops, you can spy Baltimore orioles while hooded merganser ducks are down below, paddling down the river with their brood of ducklings. These are the bird sightings you might see in the Hilltowns in late June and early July. But what about their nests? Yes, you can spy those too, but first, learn WHERE they build their nests (in the trees, reeds, or river banks), HOW they build their nests, and other interesting facts about our avian neighbors and the places they call home. There is an estimate of over 18,000 bird species with a wide variety of nests shapes and sizes to discover, but maybe start with learning about the types of nests birds call home.

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Self-Directed Learning: Humanities/Summer Trails

In Western Massachusetts, we are fortunate to have so many conserved landscapes that offer mountain views, scenic trails, access to waterways, and places to discover nature’s inspiring energy. When visiting these local treasures, take the time to discover the organization behind the conservation and care of the properties you visit, like Kestrel Land Trust, The Trustees, Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area, and the Hilltown Land Trust, to name a few. Learning about these organizations and properties with your kids and then exploring them together helps families understand their value and deepens their appreciation for their work and desire to support conservation efforts. It can also support an interest in literature and poetry. Our natural landscape here in New England has inspired many influential writers, like Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. While exploring the local landscape this summer, think about how it can inspire an artist and a writer. Think about the past; why do you think nature writing was so prevalent in the early-mid 19th century? How did nature writing in the United States inspire American conservation in the 19th century and presently with the organizations that protect the properties you visit? And which property or hiking trail inspires you the most, and why? Being mindful of nature as you travel through the local landscape on foot through pathways and atop summits can intuitively answer these questions as they relate to your appreciation for nature and deepen your connection to place. 

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Self-Directed Learning: History/Independence Day

The call for revolution in the late 18th century echoed throughout Massachusetts as the early American colonists sought independence from the British. Massachusetts settler history is deeply rooted in the history of the American Revolutionary War, from acts of rebellion to the many battles fought on this soil. Every 4th of July, communities commemorate the North American colonies’ patriots who spoke out against a government they felt did not truly represent them and their interests. Lasting nearly a decade (1775-1783), the American Revolution shaped our country’s early identity as a nation. The places, spaces, and communities that made up the Massachusetts colony played a major role in the early American cause for Independence. Learn more about the origins of the Declaration of Independence, the ideas of Enlightenment philosopher John Locke, and its resounding message in history.

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Self-Directed Learning: Entomology/Summer Insects

Learning through the lens of native insects holds endless pathways in which self-directed learning can flow. Interests from ecology and food production to language arts and technology are vast when using insects as your point of entry to learning. It is endless! Let’s take a moment to appreciate these fantastic creatures starting with a fun fact about how high in the sky they can fly, followed by two insects who make unique homes for themselves, the lifecycle of another well-loved critter, and conclude with a quick lesson in entomology.

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Self-Directed Learning: Humanities/Picnics

Al fresco dining during the summer months unites our sense of taste and smell with the sights and sounds of nature under the sun’s warmth. Picnics are a traditional way for families to enjoy a meal outdoors while allowing children to “get up from the table” and play. While kids run around chasing butterflies and skipping stones, adults can relax on picnic blankets with wicker baskets filled with sandwiches, chips, salads, and lemonade. But these aren’t the only ingredients you might find in a picnic basket. Learn what you might find at picnics from around the world, and get inspired by picnic foods from the Middle East, France, Japan, and England for your next family picnic.

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Self-Directed Learning: Food Studies/Summer Foods

Depending on the time of year, we often find ourselves eating specific foods related to the seasons and our cultural heritage. Holidays, agriculture, and the cycles of nature all impact the foods we slice and serve. Fresh fruits, frozen treats, and barbecues are summer staples in the hotter months! Let these yummy treats and meal time highlights be a catalyst for learning about history, culinary arts, and even chemistry. From popsicles, fresh fruit, and BBQ, there’s a lot to learn through the lens of summer foods!

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Self-Directed Learning: Entomology/Fireflies

It’s Firefly season! Fireflies, dancing their bioluminescence ballet across the summer evening landscape, mark this time of year. An orchestra made up of frogs, insects, and leaves swaying in the breeze is the backdrop as the sun sets, and these glowing beetle emerge for a brief time every year, lighting up yards, fields, and forests. Take the time to sit quietly in the evening, listen, and watch a spectacular presentation that only nature could orchestrate. Engaging the sense with the natural world helps connect us to the present moment while strengthening a sense of place. The summer enchantment fireflies can bestow on young children brings fantasy and lore into their childhood memories, staying with them as they learn through nature and grow with the seasons. That magic can lead the way towards learning, bridging a sense of place with the sciences through curiosity and discovery.

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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, Chester, 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, Westhampton, Windsor, and Worthington Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.