Are you concerned about the sustainability of our energy supply?  About the impact of climate change?  Would you like to learn about  a positive grassroots response to the coming changes and challenges?

Learn more

A full day of workshops and lectures with keynote address by Ward Stone. Topics include Growing Great Tomatoes, Rain Gardens, Pruning Ornamental Trees and Shrubs, Indoor Composting with Red Worms, Growing Great Garlic, Preserving your Harvest, and Growing in Tunnels and Cold Frames.

Presented by: Friends of Hiland Hall Gardens, Walloomsac Farmers’ Market and New England Tropical Conservatory.

Location: Park McCullough Carriage Barn.

Registration is $25 / or $21.50 for members of the Walloomsac Farmers’ Market or NETC.

To learn more about this program, view the agenda and register online, see our Spring Symposium page.

Te learn about other spring classes at NETC, visit our Education/Projects page.

Learn the basics about raising birds. Our presenter will cover the chick, the chicken and  the egg.

To learn more or to register for this program and see all our spring programs, visit our classes page.

This class is for beginner seed starters. Registration includes plug flat for planting in, soil, seeds and other tools.

To learn more or to register for this program and see all our spring programs, visit our classes page.

The Conservatory currently conducts on-going botanical research in Indonesia.  Its Greenberg Reserve is open to the public for recreation and is the site of school field trips. The new facility will allow NETC to bring new educational resources to the schools and to the general public.  Initial offerings will include lectures on current environmental issues,   arts and culture of Indonesia and Southeast Asia, and tools and information to help citizens practice conservation and sustainability in their own communities and back yards.  School children will be invited to the Education Center as well as to the Greenberg Reserve for life science activities.

Mary Fuqua, NETC President,  comments “We could not pass up this opportunity. The building is directly across the road from the future site of our Conservatory. The Education Center will make educational programs and resources available to the community immediately.  Our expertise and resources on environmental issues could not be more timely. And when the time comes to open the doors to the Conservatory, an active education program will already be in place.”  She adds that these activities will not only enrich Bennington culturally and educationally, but will attract new visitors to the area.

The building was constructed about 1960 and was utilized as a Howard Johnson’s Restaurant for several years.  The Bennington Club purchased it in 1982 for use as a private club.  It has been well maintained.  NETC plans no major structural changes.

Bennington Club President Millie Pierce stated that the club is indeed fortunate in finding a buyer who will keep the building and grounds to the high standards the club members have set. The club will continue as a corporate entity and will in all probability rent space from other clubs to carry out its functions.  We do not plan on going away. Our sincere congratulations to NETC on acquiring their new home, and we wish them much success.

The purchase has been funded by generous gifts from the Board of Directors and mortgage loans from the Bank of Bennington and the Vermont Small Business Development Corporation.

Puglisi joins NETC from a position as Associate Extension Educator at the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension. In this role she developed programs for commercial farmers, home gardeners and volunteers. She previously was employed as an Extension Educator at Cornell University Cooperative Extension. She holds a B.S. in Horticulture from Cornell University and an M.S. from Virginia Tech. Her first position after school was as Gardener at Norfolk (VA) Botanical Garden.

“This is a tremendous leap for New England Tropical Conservatory.  We have been engaged in significant botanical work abroad for more than ten years. Sadie’s appointment allows us to begin providing services to our home community,” explained Dr. Mary Fuqua, President of NETC. “Sadie has gained a fine reputation as an educator in New Hampshire. She has been able to develop programs that tie the community to the nature that surrounds them and I am excited that she is ready to bring her talents to NETC.”

Sadie observes that “NETC has so many excellent resources available for adults and children interested in plants and the environment. I am eager to bring these educational opportunities out to the community.”

Sadie Puglisi is an outdoor enthusiast. She is  an official hiking leader for the New Hampshire Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club and has been Race Director for the Stride for New Hampshire Pride Road Race – a 5K to support local farms. She resides in North Bennington.

New England Tropical Conservatory conducts botanical research in Indonesia. The Department of Botany, US National Herbarium, Smithsonian Institution is a partner in this research.  NETC’s Greenberg Reserve is open to the public for recreation and is the site of school field trips. NETC maintains an office in North Bennington.

These Boards replace temporary interpretive signs created by Dr. Robert Tarnas, a local physician and naturalist, who wrote and erected temporary interpretive signs when the Reserve opened and has renewed them annually. The new Boards retain the original text, which as been popular with children and adults alike.

The Reserve is located on the east side of Route 7 S, just over a mile from Main Street. To find the signs, follow the Old Farm Road from the parking lot through the meadow. The first Story Board, situated shortly after the road enters the wetland, will ask you to stop and listen-you will hear interesting sounds at every season and time of day! Another board invites you to look about you and think about how the valley you see was formed. Others recount the history of the trolley line, point out the wildlife in the wetland and the creatures at home in the rotting debris of the woods, and draw your attention to the patch of ancient plants known as Horsetails. At an overlook across the swamp to Mt. Anthony, another Board explains the geology of our region–why Mt. Anthony sits just where it does and where it came from.

The project has been funded by a grant from the Taconic Tri-State Audubon Society.

Dr. Wiriadinata holds a B.S. from the Faculty of Biology, Satya Wacana University, Salatiga, Indonesia and a Drs. Degree from the Faculty of Science and Mathematics, University of Indonesia, Jakarta, where he presently teaches. He received a Ph.D. from the Botanical Department, Faculty of Sciences, Tohoku University, Japan. His fields of specialization are the Leguminosae, Rafflesiaceae and Begoniaceae. He resides in Bogor with his wife, Mette, and son and daughter.

As Project Manager, he will oversee all taxonomic work, lead the field expeditions and oversee student field instruction. As this newsletter goes to press, he is making final preparations to support the initial expedition, an exploration of 2400 meter Mt. Mengkoka in Southeast Sulawesi. The expedition party is expected to comprise 25 scientists, students and support staff.