Cumming Nature Center
| Cumming Nature Center | |
|---|---|
|
Cumming Nature Center in the fall | |
| Type | Environmental education center |
| Location |
6472 Gulick Rd Naples, New York |
| Coordinates | 42°42′21″N 77°27′20″W / 42.705932°N 77.455609°WCoordinates: 42°42′21″N 77°27′20″W / 42.705932°N 77.455609°W |
| Area | 900 acres (360 ha) |
| Operated by | Rochester Museum and Science Center |
| Hiking trails | 6 miles |
| Website |
www |
The Cumming Nature Center is a 900-acre environmental education facility located near Naples, New York. Owned by the Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC), the preserve features over six miles of trails and offers educational programs and service-learning opportunities.[1][2]
Trails
The Nature Center offers five themed trails to explore.
- The Beaver Trail ends in an observation tower overlooking a 35-acre beaver pond.
- The Helen Gordon Trail features an outdoor art gallery focused on the birds and other animals in the area.
- The Haudenosaunee Trail features paintings by Seneca artist Ernest Smith about the culture and tradition of the Haudenosaunee.
- The Pioneer Trail includes a reconstructed 18th-century homestead and interpretive signs that teach about the lives of early settlers.
- The Conservation Trail helps visitors learn about the nature center’s forest conservation and management practices.
During the winter, visitors can use the ski and snowshoe trails.[3][4]
Programs
Year-round guided hikes and other programs from wildflower treks to moonlight skis give visitors in-depth experiences with the natural world around them.
Each year for over 38 years, the Nature Center has held a maple sugaring event as a fundraiser. Visitors learn about the process of converting sap into maple syrup and enjoy pure maple syrup tasting and pancakes.[5][6]
Forest School
Forest School is defined by the Forest School Association as “an inspirational process, that offers learners regular opportunities to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in a woodland or natural environment with trees.”[7]
Cumming Nature Center offers a Summer Forest School program that condenses a semester’s worth of learning into a week-long day camp for children ages 5–12. The camp focuses on purposeful work, observation and exploration with unstructured play, exploration and hands-on activities that help develop children’s physical and social skills.
References
- ↑ "Hike at Cumming Nature Center". Springwater Trails. January 25, 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
- ↑ "Celebrate inclusion with students of DRIVE Program during Cumming Nature Center hike". Wayne Post. June 20, 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
- ↑ "Cumming Nature Trail". Life in the Finger Lakes. Spring 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
- ↑ "Cumming Nature Center Trails - Rochester Museum & Science Center". www.rmsc.org. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
- ↑ "Cumming Nature Center 38th Annual Maple Sugaring Event Explores Science of Maple Syrup Production - Rochester Museum & Science Center". www.rmsc.org. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
- ↑ "Maple Sugaring at Cumming Nature Center". Brighton Pittsford Post. March 22, 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
- ↑ "What is Forest School? | Forest School Association". Forest School Association. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
External links
- Cumming Nature Center - official site at Rochester Museum & Science Center