Family & Individual Programs
Catch the Buzz Wild Bee Workshop
with Dr. Olivia Carril, World-Renowned Bee Specialist
September 8 | 10am – 3pm
$65 per person, limited spaces available
Meet the Pollinators
3rd Saturday of the month
April – September | 9am – 11am
Ever wonder about who pollinators are and the role they play in our environment and to our food supply? During this session, you’ll learn what pollination is, the different types, and why pollinators are in trouble and need our help. Then take a guided tour of Stratford with a local pollinator expert and see how many you can find. Each month the farm changes and new wonders will be found, so plan on joining us more than once for new pollinators and topics. All ages welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
$10 per person, limited spaces available
Meet the Bees – Hive Tours
3rd Saturday of the month
April – September | 10am – 12pm
Have you ever wondered how honey gets from the hive to the jar? During this tour you’ll head out to the beehives with a member of Stratford’s Apiary Team to get a firsthand look inside a living beehive. You’ll learn about the vital role they play in the food chain, how you can help protect them, and how the bees work and live together to produce the sweet rewards we love! Veils and equipment provided. Recommended age: 4 and up. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
$15 per person, limited spaces available
Story Time on the Farm
2nd Monday of the Month
April – October | 10am – 11am
Stories are a fun way to introduce young children to nature and farm life. Each Story Time will have a theme based on the seasonal happenings at the farm and nature preserve. After listening to the story the children will then bring the story to life as they visit the animals.
$5 per child ages 2 and up, no charge for parents and children under 2
Registration encouraged, walk-ins welcome
Garden Tea Party
August 2nd | 2pm – 4pm
A tea party that lives up to its name as girls and boys venture into the Stratford garden to harvest fruits, vegetables, flowers, herbs, and collect fresh eggs from the hen house. Participants may brew their own choice of herbal tea, prepare sandwiches from scratch, and enjoy homemade delights, all with herbs straight from the Stratford garden. Bring a special teacup from home if you’d like. Tea party attire encouraged.
$25 per adult + 1st child (ages 4 – 12), $10 per additional participant
SOLD OUT – E-mail erin.fisher@stratfordecologicalcenter.org to join the waitlist.
Fall Family Campfire
Check back for 2023 date
Arrive at 5pm to visit the animals before taking a wagon ride along the pastures, prairie and woods to the campfire beside the pond. Explore the prairie paths and banks of the pond before roasting hotdogs and marshmallows. Settle down with a cup of hot cider to listen to a story and join a sing-along. Return in the dark on an optional night hike through the forest. This is an evening for families, individuals and friends.
$5 per person – bring your own hotdogs & fixings with marshmallows to roast.
NEW! Bee a Pollinator Warrior Series
A four-part series to BEEcome a certified Pollinator Warrior! (individual session registration available for those unable to attend all four sessions)
Select Saturdays | 9am – 11am
April 8, April 29, May 13, June 3
(Click ‘Register Now’ button for session topics)
Come see what all the buzz is about and BEEcome a Pollinator Warrior in this four-part series. Get an inside look at pollinators and their vital role in keeping our environment healthy and our food supply secure. Learn why pollinators are important, what is needed to protect them and graduate with the tools you need to make a big difference in protecting and revitalizing our pollinators and their homes. You’ll take home items after every session to put your Pollinator Warrior Powers to good use!
Individual session registration is available for those unable to attend all four sessions, but you’ll get the most benefit by participating in the series since the classes build on each other. Participants who complete the series of four sessions will receive a special book and certificate at a graduation luncheon, along with bragging rights to your new powers!
$100 for the entire series (Use coupon code 4CLASSPASS at check out) or $30 per person, per session
Open to adults and children ages 10+
Limited spaces available
NEW! Beekeeping
4-H SPIN (SPecial INterest) Club
Various Thursdays (10 meetings)
April – August | 4pm – 6pm
In association with the Delaware County 4-H Program, this is a unique opportunity for aspiring beekeepers and nature enthusiasts. Participants will thrive by combining classroom learning with invaluable hands-on experience caring for a dedicated beehive with guidance from expert apiary mentors with 80+ years combined experience! This club is specialized for youth ages 12-18 years old who are interested in learning all about honeybees and the roles these pollinators play in our ecosystem. As with anything in nature, nothing exists in isolation, and this is a great opportunity to learn a key skill that is important for sustaining our food supply, and the habitat needed to sustain both honeybees and native bees. Cost includes the use of Stratford’s equipment; veil, hive, bees, and all the tools needed to care for a dedicated honeybee hive.
$60 per person, limited spaces available, must register by March 31st
Winter Seed Sowing
Check back for 2024 date
Would you like to get an easy head start on your spring planting of native plants and vegetables? Join The Delaware County Master Gardeners in learning how to start seeds in January. We’ll show you how to make a mini greenhouse out of a milk jug for starting native plants and demonstrate a simple way to create a vegetable seed table for easy planting in the spring. Participants will take home a mini greenhouse and a seed tape.
$15 per person, limited spaces available
Open to adults and children ages 12+
Maple Sugar Tours
Check back for 2024 date
Discover the wonder of this local Ohio natural food. Join our experienced sugar cookers for an intimate, one hour tour and hands-on experience in the sugar bush. Learn how to tap a maple tree, help collect sap and observe the evaporation process in the sugar shack, while spending time in Stratford’s beautiful forest! Local maple syrup will be available for purchase. Tours require participants to be able to walk about 3/4 of a mile, last approximately one hour and depart every half hour with the last tour leaving at noon. Be sure to check out our Maple Sugar Celebration on March 4th too! Advanced registration required.
$10 per person, limited spaces available
A Night at the Pool: Vernal Pool Monitoring
Check back for 2024 date
Have you ever heard nature’s orchestra perform? It’s time for the spring awakening in the wetlands when the frogs begin to sing in harmony. Join our experts who will help you get up-close and personal with some of the creatures who make the vernal pools their home. After learning inside, put on your mud boots for a sunset hike to the vernal pool. Listen for mating calls, look for salamanders, frogs and egg masses. You will be participating in a state-wide preservation effort of one of Ohio’s disappearing ecosystems.
$5 per person, limited spaces available
Birds, Blooms, & You
Check back for 2024 date
Watching a busy backyard feeder from your living room window is fun and exciting, but there’s a wider world of birds waiting to be explored! The May spring migration in Ohio is the perfect time to admire both the far-flung fliers and the wildflowers with friends at Stratford. For some, knowing where and how to start birdwatching outside the backyard may seem overwhelming, but at Stratford, all curious minds are welcome, and we never stop learning. Admire the wildflowers and listen to the morning bird concert while walking the trails in small groups led by experienced birders and Ohio’s Young Birders group. After exploring and engaging all your senses on your morning bird walk, blow open the doors to inquiry and learning further by participating in our breakout birding experiences. Enjoy coffee and morning fuel before or after your walk. Open to all experience levels and ages; recommended for ages 6+
$15 per person, limited spaces available
Winter Seed Sowing
Check back for 2024 date
Would you like to get an easy head start on your spring planting of native plants and vegetables? Join The Delaware County Master Gardeners in learning how to start seeds in January. We’ll show you how to make a mini greenhouse out of a milk jug for starting native plants and demonstrate a simple way to create a vegetable seed table for easy planting in the spring. Participants will take home a mini greenhouse and a seed tape.
$15 per person, limited spaces available
Open to adults and children ages 12+
Maple Sugar Tours
Check back for 2024 date
Discover the wonder of this local Ohio natural food. Join our experienced sugar cookers for an intimate, one hour tour and hands-on experience in the sugar bush. Learn how to tap a maple tree, help collect sap and observe the evaporation process in the sugar shack, while spending time in Stratford’s beautiful forest! Local maple syrup will be available for purchase. Tours require participants to be able to walk about 3/4 of a mile, last approximately one hour and depart every half hour with the last tour leaving at noon. Be sure to check out our Maple Sugar Celebration on March 4th too! Advanced registration required.
$10 per person, limited spaces available
Adult Only Programs
Photography Club
3rd Thursday of the month, 10am – 12pm
January – November
Calling all photography enthusiasts! Monthly meetings provide an opportunity to share and edit photos, learn techniques from local experts to photograph landscapes, animals, gardens and more. All skill levels welcome! Just show up and bring your camera, even if it’s your phone. Participants are welcome to wander the fields and forests of Stratford to capture the abundant beauty of the seasons. Please contact photography@stratfordecologicalcenter.org for more details.
$20 for the entire year
Book Talks
3rd Friday of the month, 1:30pm – 3:30pm
Have you ever wanted to join a book club, but feel like you don’t have time to read the whole book? Then this is your kind of book talk! Join fellow participants who want to explore literary works from Stratford’s library in a lively discussion on topics ranging from agriculture, nature writers and homesteading. Librarian and incredible naturalist Liz Barker does the heavy lifting by reading a series of books on a particular subject, and then convenes the group to share her learnings and lead a discussion. It’s a social summary with friends! Explore and recommend topics with Liz any time you want.
$10 for the entire year
Herb Study Group
2nd Tuesday of the month
January – December | 1pm – 3pm
(June – August 9:30am – 11:30am)
Come together for a sharing circle to explore the many uses of wild and cultivated plants. Each month the group examines a different herbal topic and works together in the herb garden, tending, harvesting and learning from each other. This is a hands-on, participant-led group and wonderful way to get more comfortable using herbs. All skill levels welcome!
$10 per person for the entire year
Edible Plant Walk ID & Lunch
Check back for 2024 date
Join veteran members of Stratford’s Herbal Study Group for a spring walk in our gardens and woods to identify and learn how to incorporate culinary wild plants into your own meals. Then stay for lunch and sample dishes made from edibles obtainable this time of year. You’ll get to take home handouts and recipes to try making some yourself at home.
$25 per person, limited spaces available
Wildflower Walk for Adults
Check back for 2024 date
Join one of our expert naturalists for a spring walk through Stratford’s Nature Preserve, home to a diversity of wildflowers. View the carpet of wild hyacinths, hillsides of trillium, find a jack-in-the-pulpit, green dragon, wild geraniums and many more. Bring your camera to capture the inspiring display of nature’s beauty.
$5 per person, limited spaces available
Regenerative Agriculture
3rd Saturday of the month: April – September 2022, 11am – 1pm New topics each session
Join Stratford’s Farmer – Jeff Dickinson – and other experts to explore the principles and practices of a healthy food system. Whether you are interested in farming or you would simply like to learn more about local agriculture, this series will take you behind the scenes for a first-hand experience on a real working farm. This series will explore farming stewardship practices related to biodiversity, the conservation of natural areas, the soil food web, integrating grass-fed livestock, and apiculture. New topics each session – View the Public Events Calendar for a specific session topics.
$25 per person, per session
Hatha Yoga on the Farm
3rd Thursday of the month, 2pm – 3pm April – September
Immerse yourself in the sights and sounds, (and smells) of a working farm while moving your body through a series of yoga postures. Hatha yoga includes breath work, as well as physical postures designed to help you gain strength, flexibility, and balance. This beginner friendly practice will move through a series of seated, kneeling, standing, and reclined postures. Bring your own yoga mat and/or beach towel and a water bottle. Stick around after class to visit the animals, take a stroll through the forest, or shop in our farm store. Or just sit back and bask in that yoga afterglow while enjoying time in nature.
$10 per person per session, limited spaces available
Book Talks
3rd Friday of the month, 1:30pm – 3:30pm
Have you ever wanted to join a book club, but feel like you don’t have time to read the whole book? Then this is your kind of book talk! Join fellow participants who want to explore literary works from Stratford’s library in a lively discussion on topics ranging from agriculture, nature writers and homesteading. Librarian and incredible naturalist Liz Barker does the heavy lifting by reading a series of books on a particular subject, and then convenes the group to share her learnings and lead a discussion. It’s a social summary with friends! Explore and recommend topics with Liz any time you want.
$10 for the entire year
Weed Identification with DCMG
Tuesday, March 8th, 1:30pm – 4:30pm
Join the Delaware County Master Gardeners to learn the basics of identifying plants using weeds and the weed key from Weeds of the Northeast. If you have a copy, bring it! If not, copies will be provided for sharing. Even if weeds are not your “thing,” you will learn the basics of using a key. You can then use a tree key, a spring wildflower key or other—with a little practice, of course! We will be in the classroom, but your hands will get dirty!
FREE, but registration required, limited spaces available.
E-mail AprilHoy@stratfordecologicalcenter.org to save your spot.
Community Events
Maple Sugar Celebration
Check back for 2024 date!
Bring the whole family to Stratford for a self-guided exploration to celebrate this special time of year. From farm to forest discover the early signs of spring. Celebrate the maple sugar season with us as you walk the Storybook Trail out to the Sugar Shack where you’ll learn how to tap a tree, taste maple sap and syrup, observe the cooking process and more. After your adventure, visit the newborn farm babies and warm up by the fire as you enjoy a fresh pancake with warm maple syrup and a cup of hot chocolate or coffee (while supplies last). To help save on waste, please bring your own fork and reusable thermos or mug. Before you head home, be sure to stop in the farm store to take home some local, pure maple syrup. It doesn’t get much sweeter than that!
$10 per person. Ages 2 and under free (no need to register a spot for them). Limited spaces available. Online registration for your family’s arrival time is required due to limited parking during muddy, spring weather.
Sheep Shearing Day
April 22nd, 2023 | 9am – 1pm
Bring the whole family to Stratford for a wooly experience! Stratford will provide visitors with an engaging experience while the resident sheep (and llama) receive their annual shearing. The flock will be shorn throughout the day, and our shearers will interpret the process from start to finish. Your family can visit stations to learn how wool is processed. Celebrate the spring season with us through hands-on fiber projects, visiting the farm babies in the barn, taking a picture with Little Bo Peep, tossing feathers up to see the tree swallows catch them out of thin air, hiking the trails for a wildflower walk and more!
$5 per person, ages 2 and under free.
Walk-ins welcome, but register now to guarantee a speedy check-in process upon arrival and let us know you’re coming to help us plan accordingly.
Harvest Fair
October 14th | 10am – 2pm
Help us celebrate the harvest at one of Stratford’s biggest events of the year! Kids of all ages can discover their inner farmer at this family friendly event. Climb a tractor, paint your face, feed the chickens, ride a horse drawn wagon, and hike the trails. It is a great opportunity to get the kids outside to have fun with the Stratford family!
$5 per person, ages 2 and under free.
Walk-ins welcome, but register now to let us know you’re coming to help us estimate the attendance for the day, and guarantee a speedy check-in process when you get here!