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Fall Hike: Expanding the Wilderness Corridor – “Save Chebacco Trails”
Friday December 5, 2025, 12 pm Noon
Friday December 5, 2025, 12 pm Noon
Register here for more details and the meetup location
Past Events
MECT Fall Hike: Field Lessons on Deer, Habitat Health and Hiking Safety
Massachusetts Environmental Police Officer Joe Gray will lead us on a hike to find signs of deer in the woods. We’ll explore the principles of responsible hunting, conservation, game management and natural resource protection.
This guided outing will focus on understanding wildlife habitats, reading the landscape, and recognizing the role hunters play in maintaining healthy ecosystems. Whether you’re new to our trails, a frequent hiker, a hunter, or simply curious about local wildlife, this opportunity offers a chance to learn directly from the professionals who protect our natural resources every day.
Come ask questions, learn the “why” behind the hunting regulations, how to hike safely during hunting season, and gain a deeper appreciation for ethical outdoor stewardship.
Sunday, November 23, 2025, 10am
Register Here for more details and the meetup location!
MECT Annual Meeting 2025
Sunday, November 2, 2025 5 pm
“The Power of Rewilding: Restoring Balance, Biodiversity, and Belonging”
with Nicie Panetta from Northeast Wilderness Trust
Nicie Panetta grew up exploring the woods and coastlines of New England, experiences that sparked her lifelong passion for wild places. She now leads efforts to protect “forever-wild” lands across the northeast, drawing on her extensive experience in nonprofit leadership, finance, and communications.
Nicie will share how rewilding—allowing nature to reclaim and restore its own balance—offers hope for biodiversity, climate resilience, and stronger connections between people and the land. Drawing on her work with the Northeast Wilderness Trust, and her roots here in Manchester, she will invite us to imagine what a wilder Cape Ann, and a wilder northeast, might look like.
We’ll have a short Annual Meeting to elect officers and trustees, and to present 2024 financial results, 2025 activities, and discuss our plans for the future. Then we’ll turn it over to Nicie Panetta!
Riversbend Restaurant in Essex is generously hosting us. Enjoy their wood-fired pizza, courtesy of our sponsors, and a cash bar. (Gluten free pizza is available!)
Registration is required to make sure everyone has a seat!
Riversbend Restaurant
35 Dodge St, Essex, MA
Fall Hike: From Woodland to Wetland: Stepping Out With “Nature of Color”
Join us for a special family-friendly Fall Hike —a creative exploration of color in nature led by Kimberly Collins Jermain, author and illustrator of Nature of Color: Your Field Guide to Exploring Color in the Natural World.
Designed for parents with their children, this guided walk invites participants to see the landscape through an artist’s eyes. Kimberly will lead hands-on color exercises from her book, helping families discover how hues shift with ecosystems, perspective, and light. Together, you’ll start a record of discoveries and spark a shared sense of wonder at the palette of the natural world.
Space is very limited. Recommended for children 8 years and older. Books, gluesticks and color paper will be provided for you to explore and save your color findings—please bring your curiosity!
Sunday, October 19, 2025 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
Register Here for more details and the meetup location!
Fall Hike: Therapeutic Hike with Candace McCann
Join us for a restorative hike —a chance to move mindfully through nature’s autumn beauty and reconnect with both body and landscape.
Licensed social worker Candace McCann will guide us on her favorite 4.5-mile therapeutic hike, which will traverse a variety of terrains, engaging every part of the body while inviting reflection and grounding along the way. The route offers expansive views and peaceful forest paths that inspire calm and renewal. Please bring water, snacks, and sturdy footwear suitable for uneven ground.
Sunday, November 9, 2025 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Register Here for more details and the meetup location!
Fall Pop-up Hike: Mushroom Hunting with Gary Gilbert
Join us for a unique, guided Pop-up Hike at MECT’s Wilderness Conservation Area (The WCA)—perfectly timed following the late summer rains, when mushrooms are at their peak!
Gary Gilbert, Manchester resident and executive committee member of the Boston Mycological Club, will lead the hike. With his expertise, you’ll explore the incredible diversity of fungi thriving in this untouched woodland. The WCA has never been commercially farmed or developed, allowing the mycelium and mycorrhizal networks to flourish undisturbed—a truly special environment for mushroom enthusiasts and curious explorers alike.
Saturday, September 20, 2025 10:00 am to Noon
Register Here for more details and the meetup location!
Spring Hike: Vernal Pool Exploration with Rick Roth
Join Rick Roth of Cape Ann Vernal Ponds to explore a vernal pool in Manchester. Rick is a passionate and knowledgeable vernal pool expert. He often leads nighttime hikes during the “Big Nights” of spring salamander and frog migration. Now that the amphibians have made their way to the ponds – we should be able to see some evidence. If we’re lucky, we should be able to see egg masses of wood frogs and mole salamanders as well as the fascinating fairy shrimp. Magnifying glasses will be available to see up close. While we love dogs – this is not the hike to bring them along – they tend to disturb the vernal pool habitat.
Tuesday, April 22, 2025 Noon – 2 pm SCHOOL VACATION WEEK
Register Here for more details and the meetup location!
Spring Hike: Spring plant life near wetlands and bog with Lucas O’Neil
Lucas O’Neil returns this year to explore the emerging plants of the wetlands and bog, and the sphagnum mosses and liverwort. Lucas O’Neil is a local botanist who is passionate about native species and how habitats evolve (even with invasives). He is a member of the Creative Commons Collective, a group devoted to re-wilding and re-meadowing the North Shore. This hike takes place on one of our recent conservation acquisitions in Essex.
Saturday May 3, 2025 10 am to 12 pm
Register Here for more details and the meetup location!
Spring Hike: Photography with Michael Prince
With your phone or your favorite camera, learn some new ways to frame our beautiful surroundings, including the iconic boardwalk! Michael is a fabulous professional photographer, and he will help you to improve your photographic skills for landscape and “people” photography! Explore depth of field, line and composition. (Photo credit to Michael Prince)
Saturday May 17, 2025 10 am to 12 pm
Register Here for more details and the meetup location
Spring Hike: Take a digital detox hike with us to Millstone Hill
Just a calm and peaceful woodland walk! Breath in, breath out. Enjoy the views, the sounds and the smells as summer starts. This is a walk we wish we could schedule every day!
Saturday June 21, 2025 10 am to 12 pm
Register Here for more details and the meetup location!
Autumn Changes – Botany with Lucas O’Neil
October 27, 10 am – noon
Lucas is BACK and ready to get you excited about the plant life flourishing in the lands we conserve. After 3 fascinating walks this spring, he’s ready to show us what to look for as plant species prepare to go dormant for the winter or drop their seeds. Lucas O’Neil is a local botanist who is passionate about native species and how habitats evolve (even with invasives). He is a member of the Creative Commons Collective, a group devoted to re-wilding and re-meadowing the North Shore.
Please register here for meet-up location and details.
Mindfulness Walk with Carla Villa
October 19, 2024 – 10 am-noon
Join MECT and Carla Villa of Ipswich Wellness Collective for a morning of mindful movement and walk in nature. In a world with many challenges, it’s important to build inner strength and calm. Mindful movement and meditation are powerful ways to help us manage stress and lift our spirits. On this hike we will mindfully immerse ourselves in nature, allowing it to lead us to a serene state.
Whether you’re new to meditation or have been practicing for years, if you love nature and seek a calm mind, this event is for you. We’ll meet at a trailhead where we’ll begin with a few minutes of mindful movement in our serene setting before setting off on our hike. Along the way we’ll pause for two short guided meditations and light conversation, allowing the sights and sounds of nature to help us slow down and quiet our busy minds.
Wear layers, appropriate footwear and dress comfortably for the outdoors.
Carla Villa is a Yoga and Meditation Instructor as well as the Engagement Manager at Ipswich River Watershed Association. She loves how yoga, meditation, and being in nature can help us connect with our inner calm and strength. In her classes, Carla focuses on meeting you where you are, offering accessible movement, mindful breathing, and guided meditation to help you connect with your body and inner self.
Please register here for meet-up location and details.
Hike to Bear’s Den, Baby Rock and Monster Rock
Saturday, September 21, 2024, 10 am to noon
Join MECT trustee Jeff Cochand as we kick off our fall hike series with a walk to Baby Rock, Monster Rock and Bear’s Den! These are trails that you may not think of as a first stop when you come to the Wilderness Conservation Area in Manchester and Essex; get to know a different part of our woods and the historic sites there, and add a tooth to Monster Rock.
This is a short, kid-friendly hike. Wear appropriate footwear (sneakers or hiking boots), bring water and dress for the weather!
Please register here for meet-up location and details.
Mushroom Walk with Jana Harris of Essex Forays
Saturday, September 28, 2024, 10:30 am -12:30 pm
We’ve had a mix of weather lately and mushroom season is looking exciting! Let Jana Harris of Essex Forays guide you through the world of fungi as we explore what our local woods has to offer us this season. The land MECT has conserved has never been farmed or developed, and the mycelium network has been able to thrive, undisturbed, for hundreds of years. It makes for great mushrooming!
Jana Harris is a local expert and a member of Boston Mycological Club. We’re keeping this outing small so that everyone can have a hands-on experience, be sure to sign up early! Wear boots and bring water and your eagle eyes. Please register here for meet-up location and details.
Hike with Kestrel Education – all are welcome
October 5, 2024- 10 am-noon
Join MECT and Jessica Kagle of Kestrel Education as we hone our observational skills in nature and use them to identify different species. We’ll learn how to use the iNaturalist phone app to confirm or correct our identification hunches, learn more about what is being seen in our area and enjoy a hike on MECT protected land. Hikers do not have to bring their own phones, but if you do, consider joining iNaturalist in advance.
Wear hiking boots and dress for the weather This will be fun for kids of all ages. Please register here for meet-up location and details.
2023 Annual Meeting
MECT Annual Meeting
Sunday, Nov 12, 2023 3 – 5 pm
Register Here
Fighting Crime with Feathers: The Casebook of a Forensic Ornithologist
Ornithologists and true crime enthusiasts, unite!
MECT is delighted to present Pepper Trail, Ph.D., as the keynote speaker for our 2023 Annual Meeting! Pepper Trail worked for 20 years as a forensic ornithologist for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Yes, a forensic ornithologist is exactly what it sounds like: Pepper Trail solves bird crimes! He has assisted with hundreds of investigations for state and federal agencies and around the world. As you can imagine, he has some excellent stories that he will be sharing about his work! Dr. Trail is also the architect of The Feather Atlas of North American Birds, a comprehensive digital tool you can use to identify birds by their feathers. Bring along any pictures of feathers you’ve found in nature for Dr. Trail to identify and discuss!
This event is free and open to the public. We’ll have a short Annual Meeting to present 2022 financial results, 2023 activities, our plans for the future, and elect/reelect Officers and Trustees.
Riversbend Restaurant in Essex is generously hosting us, there will be free pizza courtesy of our sponsors and a cash bar. (Gluten free pizza is available!)
Early Signs of Spring (Part 1) with Lucas O’Neil, Botanist
Saturday, April 13th, 10am to 12pm
Early spring is an amazing time in the woods. Search with us to see for spring ephemerals using the iNaturalist app to help identify what we find. You can download the free phone app in advance or while on the trails. This will be a very kid friendly, entertaining, short distance walk. Register Here
RAIN DELAY … Tiltin’ Rock via Tombstone Trail in Essex with Tom Barrieau, MECT Trustee
Rain Delay … this hike is now Sunday, April 21st, 12pm to 2pm
Explore one of MECT’s newest conservation acquisitions, in the beautiful upland area east of Southern Ave in Essex. From there, we will hike past several large glacial erratics, including Tiltin’ Rock. This is a medium distance hike of 2.5 miles. Register Here
Vernal Pond Exploration
Sunday, April 28th, 10am to 12pm
Calling all kids! Families are invited to explore the beauty of the North Shore. Many animals and plants thrive in and around our local vernal ponds. Perhaps we’ll find egg masses of salamanders or frogs, see fairy shrimp moving around the pond by slowly beating their short legs, and we might find some frogs or other creatures. The walk will be easy and we’ll spend most of our time inspecting in and around a vernal pond. Please keep your dogs home for this walk since the might disturb the creatures in the pond we’re looking at. Register Here
Cleanup Day in Essex on Southern Avenue
Saturday, May 4th, 10am to 12pm
Please bring gloves and wear boots! We will be doing a cleanup of trash along Southern Avenue, a stretch that includes multiple MECT trailheads. Many thanks to the Essex citizen who made all of the arrangements for this cleanup, and the Town of Essex for supplying the trash bags and (future!) disposal of the trash. Register Here
Early Signs of Spring – Part 2 – See What Has Changed
Sunday, May 5th, 10am to 12pm
We’ll go back out with Lucas O’Neil and cover the same ground we did on April 13th, to observe how quickly things change in the woods in early spring. We’ll be looking for new buds, different types of ferns, and many other animals and plants while we learn how to better use iNaturalist. Again, kid friendly and a short walk. Register Here
Rarified Air Presentation – One Passionate Birder’s Big Year Quest
Tuesday, May 7th at 7pm (doors open at 5pm)
On December 31, 2023, Gino Ellison completed a Big Year. If you’re not a birder, that might not be on your radar: the American Birding Association Big Year is an annual contest and enormous undertaking where birders travel all over the United States in an effort to log as many bird sightings as they can in a calendar year. Gino is a passionate birder, an avid photographer, and a Northshore local, and he managed to cross the United States to see over 800 distinct species of birds in his Big Year, an astounding feat! Gino has graciously agreed to host an event at Manchester-by-the-Sea’s own Boo Bird to recount his 2023 adventure. Register Here
Star Party in Ipswich – CANCELLED DUE TO CLOUDY SKIES
Wednesday, May 8th, 8pm to 10pm
Members of the Gloucester Area Astronomy Club will provide us with a tour of the major spring constellations and telescopic views of celestial highlights. All the major planets will be too near the sun to observe this month, but hundreds of star clusters, nebulae and distant galaxies can be seen through the Club’s telescopes. If you plan to bring a flashlight, please cover the lens with red cellophane or other red material as white light destroys night vision. Register Here
Birding with Gino Ellison
Sunday, Mother’s Day, May 12th at 8am
As a companion event to Gino’s talk at Boo Bird on May 7th, he will be taking us for a special Mothers Day birding event. While Gino may have just completed his American Birding Association’s Big Year, he still has a passion for native birds in Massachusetts, particularly migrating warblers! Attendance is extremely limited (in an effort to be silent and see as many birds we can), so sign up early! You’ll be back in time for Mother’s Day brunch! Register Here
Pine to Preston and Back
Saturday, May 18th, 10am to 1pm
Let’s go for a hike in the beautiful Western Woods of Manchester. We’ll enter the woods from Pine St in Manchester, just southeast of the Rt 128 overpass, and we’ll cross all the way to Beverly at Preston Place. We’ll then loop back on different trails, returning to our starting point. You’ll get to see the entirety of the northern end of the Western Woods (on a future hike we’ll cover the larger area to the south toward Rt 127 and the ocean). This will be a fairly difficult hike covering 3 miles over varied terrain. We recommend that you wear sturdy hiking boots and bring drinking water. Please register here.
Fire Tower, Haskell Pond, and Mt Hunger
Saturday, May 25th, 10am to 2pm
This loop will be our longest and most difficult hike of the spring season at 5 to 6 miles. We’ll climb the hill to the base of the fire tower in Essex, east of Southern Av, and then head southeast via remote trails in Essex to Haskell Pond, which is part of Gloucester’s water supply. From there we’ll head back northwest to then newly conserved Mt. Hunger region. The meet-up location is along Southern Av in Essex, at the base of the fire tower trail, which is north of the Exit 50 interchange on Rt 128. There will be some mud on this hike, you’ll definitely want boots, bug spray, and water. Please register here.