Nature Programs
Explore nature year-round with Delaware Nature Society’s hands-on programs for every age and interest. Across our statewide nature centers and natural areas, you’ll find opportunities to learn, explore, and connect with wildlife, habitats, and changing seasons.
Year-Round Age-Based Programming
These ongoing programs invite people from the youngest to the oldest to connect with nature through exploration and discovery.
Knee High Naturalists
A fun, hands-on grownup-and-me program for preschoolers. Explore trails, play games, and discover local wildlife through guided activities.
Available at Ashland, Abbott’s Mill, and Coverdale Farm.
School Age-Children
Our Field Trips and Summer Camps are all age/grade banded to ensure the appropriate level of learning for your children.
Teen & Tween Nature Clubs
Programs for middle and high school students that inspire curiosity and leadership through outdoor exploration and environmental projects.
Adult Classes, Workshops, and Nature Programs
Guided birding walks, photography outings, canoeing & paddling, planting and cooking workshops, and much more are led by DelNature educators at locations throughout the state and year. See our Activities Calendar for specific dates and locations and our Eco Trips for excursions to other parts of the country and world.
Nature-Focused Learning with the University of Delaware
DelNature partners with the University to provide the highest-quality nature-based education for adults through the Delaware Master Naturalist program and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
Seasonal Site-Based Programming
Saturdays on the Farm at Coverdale
Enjoy family-friendly farm fun — meet the animals, explore the trails, and participate in hands-on farmstead activities.
Dip-Netting and Paddling at DEEC
Explore the Christina River through hands-on dip-netting and guided paddling, learning about fish, wetlands, and freshwater ecosystems along the way.
Mill Tours at Abbott’s
Step inside historic Abbott’s Mill and enjoy guided tours that bring local history, nature, and seasonal traditions to life. Mill Tours are currently unavailable. Check back here for updates.
Hawk Watch at Ashland
Ashland Hawk Watch Hill, Ashland Nature Center’s highest hill, is in the center of the Red Clay Audubon Important Bird Area, designated by the National Audubon Society. Begun in 2007, this raptor migration count station operates September through November annually with migrant birds of prey counted daily. Our findings, along with those of over 200 other hawk watch sites across North America, are reported to the Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA). Ashland Hawk Watch Hill is ideally situated to see the daytime migration. Hawk Watch Hill is on the eastern edge of the Piedmont, a chain of rolling hills extending from New York to Alabama. This is a flyway for many of these birds heading south.
Each year September – November, daily, 9 am – 4 pm, join our Hawk Watch Coordinator and Hawk Watch Volunteers on Ashland Hawk Watch Hill to help us look for the 20,000 raptors that migrate by in the fall season. All ages welcome.
Get Involved
Our programs thrive through community participation and support. Volunteer, attend an event, or become a member to help connect people with nature across Delaware.