Putney Mountain Association

Full Moon
2025-08-09 20:30 - 21:30 (America/New_York) | Putney Mountain Summit, 443 Putney Mountain Rd, Brookline, 05345, United States
Come for the sunset, stay for the moonrise.

Full Moon
2025-07-10 20:30 - 21:30 | Putney Mountain Summit, 443 Putney Mountain Rd, Brookline, 05345, United States
Moon-gaze to the dulcet sounds of sheep bells and baaas.

Putney Mountain Tree Walk
2025-06-28 09:00 - 10:30 | Putney Mountain Trailhead, 443 Putney Mountain Rd, Brookline, VT, 05345, United States
Want to get to know your deciduous and coniferous neighbors on the ridgeline? The Putney Mountain Association is hosting naturalist Rich Grumbine for a Tree Walk on June 28th at 9 AM. This slow amble will afford ample opportunity for identification and careful observation of these sylvan creatures. In case of rain, the walk will take place on June 29th at 9AM.

Grumbine has lived in the Putney area since 1989 and has been a member of the natural science faculty at Landmark College for 35 years. He fell in love with plants during his college years and one of his great pleasures is to share his plant knowledge and enthusiasm with others.

The Tree Walk will take place on the most-hiked trail in Windham County. Thanks to a grant from the Vermont Department of Forest, Parks, and Recreation and the expert trail construction of Tahawus Trails, Putney Mountain Association was finally able to give our most popular trail the heft it needed to support the crowds. Tree walkers can rest assured that the path will be dry and that their walking will not disturb any vernal pools.

Ash Tree Inoculation
2025-06-14 09:00 - 10:00 | Legacy Ash Tree on Missing Link Trail, 645 Hague Rd, Dummerston, VT, 05346
Join local arborists Pete Butler and Kevin Brewer, who are conducting a second inoculation of PMA’s Legacy Ash in the newly acquired Fall Brook forest. Please register for this event as parking is limited. Carpool if you can! You can hike in from the Hague Rd parking lot or from the end of Holland Hill Rd.

Full Moon
2025-06-11 20:00 - 22:00 | Putney Mountain Summit, 443 Putney Mountain Rd, Brookline, 05345, United States
Bring a friend and a late-night snack.

Putney Bird Walk
2025-05-12 07:00 - 09:00 | Sand Hill Road Parking area, 87 Sand Hill Rd, Putney, 05346, United States
Join Richard Foye and the Putney Mountain Association to enjoy the sights and sounds of the songbirds currently making Putney home. Meet at Sand Hill Road at 7am this Sunday.

PMA Annual Meeting
2025-01-12 16:00 - 17:00 | Putney Community Cares, 54 Kimball Hill, Putney, Vermont, 05346
We invite all PMA members to attend our annual meeting to hear a great presentation by Jeff Nugent from the Windham Regional Commission, titled The Mountains of Windham County. We’ll meet at the Laura Heller Community Barn on Kimball Hill.

Putney School Harvest Festival
2024-10-06 10:00 - 16:00 | Putney School, 418 Houghton Brook Rd, Putney, 05346
Putney Mountain Association will have a booth at the Putney School’s annual Harvest Festival. We’ll have a large scale map and handouts available for anyone looking to visit our local forests or learn more about our latest conservation project: Fall Brook. Feel free to stop by and say hi to a friendly board member! There’s lots to do at Harvest Festival; we hope to see you there!

Missing Link Trail Celebration Hike
2024-08-24 10:00 - 12:00 | End of Holland Hill Rd, 515 Holland Hill Rd, Putney, Vermont, 05346
After 40 years of working to connect the Windmill Ridgeline Trail from Grafton, VT to Prospect Hill in Dummerston, Putney Mountain Association will open the final trail segment on August 24, 2024! Champion trailblazer Roger Haydock will guide us over 3 miles of the newly- completed Missing Link Trail with views to the West River valley and a visit to Vermont’s co-champion ash tree.

PMA Annual Meeting
2024-01-22 18:30 - 20:00
Join us on zoom for the PMA annual meeting by google meet.
You can join by clicking here

Introduction to Hawkwatching
2023-09-16 10:00 - 14:00 | Putney Mountain Summit, 443 Putney Mountain Rd, Brookline, 05345, United States
On Saturday September 16 from 10:00 to 2:00 long time Putney Mt. Hawkwatcher John Anderson will give an introduction to hawkwatching. Those interested can join John in the Putney Mt. Summit clearing for this event. While not absolutely necessary, binoculars are highly recommended. Participants should also bring food, water and sunscreen.
Find your way to the Putney Mt. Summit clearing, introduce yourself to John and wait patiently for what we hope will be great broad-winged hawk flight. Historically the 16th has been our peak day!
In case of rain John will be on the mountain Sunday to answer your questions.

How Will Climate Change Affect Vermont Forested Wildlife Habitats and Is There Anything That We Can Do About It?
2023-06-10 10:00 - 11:30 | Putney Mountain Trailhead – Libby’s Way, 443 Putney Mountain Rd, Brookline, VT, 05345, United States
With Hector Galbraith
Despite results from a multitude of scientific studies projecting the risks posed by a changing climate to natural systems, climate change is already upon us and is affecting natural habitats in the Northeast. Also, we can expect that in the future the impacts to Putney Mountain forests may accelerate, and we may face future effects that we have not yet anticipated. Just what may these changes look like in forested habitats and how might they impact wildlife populations and communities? Looking ahead, what, if anything, can we do about it? Are there adaptation efforts that we can use to slow, prevent, or steer some of these projected changes? All of these crucial questions will be addressed in this PMA field trip and talk.
Dr. Galbraith is an animal ecologist who has published many studies detailing the likely vulnerabilities of wildlife and their habitats to the changing climate, for both federal, state, and non-governmental agencies.

Birding Walk with Richard Foye
2023-05-20 07:30 - 08:30 | Sand Hill Road Parking area, 87 Sand Hill Rd, Putney, 05346, United States
Join us for a spring birding extravaganza this Saturday May 20th. Visit the Putney birding nexus of Sand Hill Road with expert birder Richard Foye as well as fellow bird enthusiasts. Please bring binoculars if you have them and leave your dogs at home. Kids under close supervision are welcome (we’ll be walking on the side of the road).

Postponed: Spring Wildflower Walk
2023-04-30 13:00 - 15:00 | Putney Forest for Learning, 24 School Forest Dr, Putney, 05346, United States
Join us for a spring Wildflower Walk lead by Pat Shields in the Putney Forest for learning
Meet at the trail kiosk by the town pool. Please remember to take precautions agains ticks as they are out. Please leave your dogs at home – we will be walking through a fragile area. Hike will be about 2 miles round trip. Children are welcome.
If you haven’t been on this walk, it is magical. You’ll visit one of the richest communities of spring flowers around. These plants are called ephemerals because they go through their entire reproductive cycle before the trees leaf out and block much of the light from the forest floor, so there is a brief and glorious window to visit them.

Winter Tracking Walk with Philip Hamilton
2023-01-01 - 2023-02-19 | Putney Mountain Trailhead – Libby’s Way, 443 Putney Mountain Rd, Brookline, VT, 05345, United States
The final walk of the BioBlitz series, this winter exploration of the Hinton Woods will be held on a date to be determined when snow is good for tracking and temperatures are amenable to hiking. The best way to track (ha!) mammal activity, at least those active in the winter, we are sure to find something interesting. As with all of the BioBlitz series, we will be exploring together.
Register here for updates on date via email.

Hawk Watch Watch with John Anderson
2022-09-17 10:00 - 12:00 | Putney Mountain Summit, 443 Putney Mountain Rd, Brookline, 05345, United States
If you’re crazy about raptors, happy about hawks, or just curious about people with big binoculars, join John for a look inside the practice, purpose and history of Hawk Watch. A fixture of Putney Mountain since the 1970’s, the Hawk watch one of the longest running events on Putney Mountain, and is featured in our logo. Learn about the migrating birds and the dedicated volunteers who keep watch every day for nearly two months
Bring binoculars if you have them – meet at the Putney Mountain Summit.
Rain Date: September 18, register for updates and a reminder email.

Tree Identification with Rich Grumbine
2022-09-17 09:00 - 22:30 | Putney Mountain Trailhead, 443 Putney Mountain Rd, Brookline, VT, 05345, United States
Join Rich Grumbine, Landmark College professor and author of Summer Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of Putney, Vermont, on a tree identification walk through Putney Mountain Association land on Saturday, September 17 at 9 am. Meet in PMA’s parking area off Putney Mountain Road. This slow walk will introduce participants to the use of a dichotomous key featured in the guide to aid in tree/shrub identification along the trail.
Copies of A Summer Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of Putney, Vermont will be made available for all participants during the walk. After the walk, those interested may purchase copies of the guide for $15.
Sponsored by Trees for Good, Putney Mountain Association, and the Putney Conservation Commission, the walk is part of the “Big Tree Quest”, an invitation to search for Putney’s biggest trees by species category, as well as find the tree with the best “pose”, the tree that took the longest walk to find and the tree hosting the most species, among other searches.

Cancelled: The Ridgeline Run, Putney Mountain to Pinnacle for kids (ages 8-14)
2022-09-10 09:00 - 15:30 | Putney Mountain Trailhead, 443 Putney Mountain Rd, Brookline, VT, 05345, United States
Cancelled for scheduling conflict – turns out this is the first day of Putney Rec League Soccer.
Stay tuned for a new date/or revised plan.
Join Sam Quintal, Putney Mountain board member, BKL Ski League coach, and dad, for over 6 miles of beautiful trail on foot. Pace will be moderate, snacks/lunch provided, and fun guaranteed!
Parents (and other adults) welcome to join if you can arrange a pickup or car at the other end. Expedition likely to take most of the day.
Drop off: Main parking area, Putney Mountain Road, pickup: Pinnacle Parking area on Windmill Hill Rd N.
Bring: Water, trail running shoes, an extra layer in case it gets chilly, and lots of energy.
Rain date: September 11 – register for updates and a reminder via email.

Fern Walk with Lynn Levine
2022-09-03 10:00 - 12:00 | Putney Mountain Trailhead – Libby’s Way, 443 Putney Mountain Rd, Brookline, VT, 05345, United States
Feathery fronds fluttering furtively, unfurling from fiddleheads. Find fascination in non-flowering, photosynthetic phenoms of the forest. Bring a friend (or four)!
Participants are asked to buy a book (at the reduced price of $10) to refer to during the walk.
Prolific author, forester, naturalist, and fern aficionado Lynn Levine will lead this walk, for the first time on the Hinton Woods as part of the BioBlitz series. We hope you can join!
Rain date: September 4 – register for updates and a reminder by email.

Yoga on Putney Mountain with Liz Jordan
2022-08-13 10:00 - 11:00 | Putney Mountain Summit, 443 Putney Mountain Rd, Brookline, 05345, United States
can you imagine
anything better to do
on Putney Mountain?
Make your way to the summit for class starting at 10 am, with your mat.
Rain date: August 14 – Register for updates and a reminder via email.

Invertebrate walk with JoAnne Russo and the Vermont Entomological Society
2022-08-06 10:00 - 12:00 | Putney Mountain Trailhead – Libby’s Way, 443 Putney Mountain Rd, Brookline, VT, 05345, United States
Bugs, Bugs, Bugs! They are everywhere, yet frequently invisible. They are vital yet often ignored. Learn more about the beauty, strength, function and habits of the smallest mobile residents of our forests.
Please bring a butterfly net if you have one.
This is part of our BioBlitz series celebrating the diversity of life in the Hinton Woods.
Rain date: August 8 – Please register to receive updates and a reminder by email.

Special Event: Walk of the Hinton Woods with Tom Wessels
2022-07-18 09:00 - 11:00 | Putney Mountain Trailhead – Libby’s Way, 443 Putney Mountain Rd, Brookline, VT, 05345, United States
Update: Due to overwhelming demand, and to keep this walk to a manageable group, registrations are now capped. Please email sam.quintal@gmail.com to join the waiting list.
Tom Wessels is a terrestrial ecologist and professor emeritus at Antioch University New England. With interests in forest, desert, arctic, and alpine ecosystems, plus geomorphology, evolutionary ecology, complex systems science, and the interface of landscape and culture, Tom considers himself a generalist. He has conducted workshops on ecology and sustainability throughout the country for over three decades. His is the author of numerous books with his latest being Granite, Fire, and Fog: The Natural and Cultural History of Acadia.
Meet at the main trail parking area on Putney Mountain Rd. No dogs please.
No rain date. Register for updates and a reminder email.

Postponed: Frogs, Newts, Salamanders, Toads, Beetles, Larvae and other Pond Dwellers
2022-07-16 10:00 - 17:00 | Putney Mountain Trailhead – Libby’s Way, 443 Putney Mountain Rd, Brookline, VT, 05345, United States
NOTE: The walk has been cancelled/postponed due to lack of water. As is now usual, there is nothing usual about weather in this part of the world, and the wetlands are dry. Hope to reschedule later in the summer, and mostly hope for rain…
A herpetology hands-on for kids, with with Sam Quintal, Mick Baisley and Cat Abbott. Bring your mud boots, grubby clothes (and maybe a spare set for the ride home), a butterfly net (if you have one), and a get-wet-attitude to this deep dive into the critters of the Hinton Woods wetlands.
This is part of our BioBlitz series, focused on cataloguing the wildlife of the Hinton Woods. Come help us find what’s out there!
All ages welcome, no dogs please. 1-2 miles round trip of relatively flat hiking.
Rain date: July 17 – Please register to receive updates and a reminder.

Moss Walk with Sarah Cooper-Ellis
2022-06-25 10:00 - 12:00 | Putney Mountain Trailhead – Libby’s Way, 443 Putney Mountain Rd, Brookline, VT, 05345, United States
There are hundreds of different species of moss in Vermont. Often overlooked, difficult to specify, mosses and their allies (liverworts and hornworts) nevertheless play an important role in our northern temperate forests. Learning a little bit about them can enhance your woodland walks and deepen your understanding of ecology at the miniature scale. We will explore the wooded area across the road from the parking lot. Park and meet at the summit parking lot. We won’t be walking very far—more of a wandering.

Bring hand-lenses or magnifiers
Smart phones can be very useful
No dogs, please
Children are welcome
Masks appreciated
Rugged/water resistant footwear
Insect precautions advised

Resources:
Links:

Home

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moss
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/vermont-atlas-of-life
Field Guides:
Mosses of the Northern Forest: A Photographic Guide, A Northern Forest Atlas Guide by Jerry Jenkins
Mosses, Liverworts, and Hornworts: A Field Guide to Common Bryophytes of the Northeast by Ralph Pope
Common Mosses of the Northeast and Appalachians, by Karl McKnight and Joseph Rohrer Princeton University Press
Ferns & Allies of the North Woods by Joe Walewski
Rain Date: June 26th, register for updates

Birding Walk with Cat Abbott
2022-06-11 07:30 - 10:00 | Putney Mountain Trailhead – Libby’s Way, 443 Putney Mountain Rd, Brookline, VT, 05345, United States
Explore the hidden gems of the woods through sound, and sight. Cat is incredibly passionate about birds, and after this walk, you will be too!
This walk is part of our BioBlitz Series, so for this year we will hike the Hinton Trail. Come explore a new venue for the Birding Walk, and help us find out what is out there!
Please bring binoculars.
Kids welcome, no dogs please.
Rain date: June 12 – please register to receive updates/reminders

May Day on the Mountain (is back!)
2022-05-01 05:30 - 07:00 | Putney Mountain Summit, 443 Putney Mountain Rd, Brookline, 05345, United States
Morris dancing at sunrise. This year Windham will be there! With at least four Putney veterans, Windham has danced in the Brattleboro area since 2010. (The Putney Morris Men are retired and Putney Mountain Morris is not dancing this year.) There is a second traditional stand at the Putney Town Hall at 6:45am.

Robert Goodby presents A Deep Presence: 13,000 Years of Native American History
2022-04-26 19:00 - 20:00
Almost 13,000 years ago, small groups of Paleoindians endured frigid
winters on the edge of a river in what would become Keene, New
Hampshire. This begins the remarkable story of Native Americans in the
Monadnock region of southwestern New Hampshire, part of the traditional
homeland of the Abenaki people.
Typically neglected or denied by conventional history, the long presence
of Native people in southwestern New Hampshire is revealed by
archaeological evidence for their deep, enduring connections to the land
and the complex social worlds they inhabited. From the Tenant Swamp Site
in Keene, with the remains of the oldest known dwellings in New England,
to the 4,000-year-old Swanzey Fish Dam still visible in the Ashuelot
River, A Deep Presence tells their story in a narrative fashion, drawing
on the author’s thirty years of fieldwork and presenting compelling
evidence from archaeology, written history, and the living traditions of
today’s Abenaki people. Join author and archeologist Robert Goodby for
an evening presentation about his research and newest book! The book can
be found at Putney Public Library and for sale at:
https://harriscenter.org/about-us/merchandise/a-deep-presence
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85030261035?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 850 3026 1035
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Spring Flower Walk
2022-04-24 10:00 - 12:00 | Putney Forest for Learning, 24 School Forest Dr, Putney, 05346, United States
With Pat Shields and Lionel Chute
Explore spring wildflowers of the Forest for Learning behind Putney Central School. Meet at the kiosk by the pool on School Forest Drive (immediate right off the front school driveway). The walk to the site might be wet so boots are a good idea. This walk is co-sponsored by Putney Mountain Association and The Forest for Learning. Please RSVP here. Full vaccination and/or mask requested. Questions, call Pat at 802-387-8595.

PMA Annual Meeting
2022-01-24 18:30 - 20:00
PMA will hold its Annual Meeting for 2022 via zoom.
Zoom link bit.ly/PMA2021Meeting
There will not be a guest speaker – the board and any members present will vote on retaining board members and catch up on any time-sensitive business.

Tracking walk with Phillip Hamilton
2022-01-22 10:00 - 2022-02-21 12:00 | Putney School, 418 Houghton Brook Rd, Putney, 05346
Tracking walk has been cancelled due to forecast low temperatures. We will update you if we are able to reschedule.
