Natural History Walking Tour Around Old Deerfield
Old Deerfield’s natural history includes cultivated gardens, open meadows, and wooded edges shaped over centuries. This guided walk explores those layers by visiting places like the Cooks’ Garden, where herbs such as thyme and lavender grow alongside native plants like bee balm and milkweed. Along the way, participants may spot goldfinches in the trees, monarchs on milkweed, or hear crickets along the path. Once used to supply household kitchens, the garden now supports both food plants and pollinators, illustrating how cultivated and wild spaces can grow side by side.
How might a garden from the past help us understand the ways people shaped the land over time?
What do you notice when you walk slowly through a garden? Look closely. What sounds, smells, and movements catch your attention?
When food plants and wildflowers grow together, what does that say about how people and nature can share the same space?
