What's Your Nature?

Become a Nature Up North explorer to share your encounters with wild things and wild places in New York's North Country. Post your wildlife sightings, landscape shots, photos from your outings, and even your organization's events!

Crayfish at Eel Weir State Park NY

After finishing a paddle on the Oswegatchie, I spotted these small Crayfish over the shore by the boat launch. 

Community Paddle - Birding from a Boat!

Event date and time
July 19, 2024 - 6:30 PM to July 19, 2024 - 8:00 PM
Event description

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's definitely a bird.

Come paddle with Nature Up North as we look to see what birds we can find along the Little River! We'll start at the Little River Boat Launch at 6:30 and discuss some common birds we may see and hear during our paddle. Then we'll paddle upstream (to the right) and look for them!

A helpful app to download ahead of time is Merlin, an app that identifies birds based on the calls that your phone hears. Our event leader, Dan, will use Merlin to play a few common bird calls using this app at the start of the paddle.

Papermaking Workshop

Event date and time
July 18, 2024 - 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Event description

Papermaking is a fun arts and craft that we can do almost anywhere! You can use natural materials, recycled paper, flowers, and more to make your own decorated pieces of paper. This Thursday at Wachtmeister Field Station, we’ll host a free event with all materials provided where we make paper with local seeds we’ll find on a trail walk! We’ll hold onto the paper as it dries, and then you can come retrieve it from us this weekend at the Canton or Potsdam farmers markets! Feel free to bring any paper you’d like to recycle as well!

Float the Oswegatchie!

Event date and time
July 13, 2024 - 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Event description

Nature Up North is branching out our canoe programming to the Oswegatchie River! We're planning a float trip from the Heuvelton Boat Launch to Eel Weir State Park on Saturday, July 13th. This float will start at 1pm in Heuvelton and will finish when the river decides to drop us off! (Or at 6pm with some paddle assistance.)

Community Campfire - Bats!

Event date and time
July 11, 2024 - 7:00 PM to July 11, 2024 - 9:00 PM
Event description

Bats! Bats! Bats!

Spend an evening with Kate Cleary, bat expert from SUNY Potsdam, and Nature Up North as we learn all about North Country bats. Test your knowledge with trivia and do bat-related arts and crafts! There may even be some sweet treats available. You'll have to stop by the Wachtmeister Field Station between 7-9 to find out!

Community Paddle - Destination Swim!

Event date and time
July 5, 2024 - 6:30 PM to July 5, 2024 - 8:00 PM
Event description

Have you ever wanted to swim in far away places? Test your sense of adventure with our paddle to a destination swimming spot!

This community paddle will start from the Little River Boat Launch across the birdge on Park St. From there, we'll paddle down the Little River to the Grasse River, turn left, and paddle upstream to the sandbanks, a popular swim spot. You can bring your own gear, or we can provide boats, paddles, and life jackets for you!

Butterfly at the Field Station

A butterfly with a broken wing at the first campfire of the season!

Imapinvasives Training and Guided Walk

Event date and time
June 28, 2024 - 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Event description

Invasive species reduce the health of our natural ecosystems by outcompeting native species and reducing habitat quality. You can help protect your favorite hiking trails, paddle-ways, backyard, and community by learning to identify invasive species and report observations to NYiMapInvasvies. Join a training session to learn these skills on June 28th from 1- 3 PM at the Nicandri Nature Center in Massena, NY. Participants will attend a presentation to learn how to identify invasive species of concern.

Book Exchange Campfire

Event date and time
June 27, 2024 - 7:00 PM to June 27, 2024 - 9:00 PM
Event description

Join us Thursday, June 27th for our Nature Up North Book Exchange Campfire! At 7:00PM at Wachtmeister, we’ll be hosting one of our usual campfires with an added twist. On top of delicious smores and enjoyable company, we invite you to share your favorite nature book with another visitor! Come share a book with a stranger or just show up and chat, share campfire stories or trail games, and get to know our team. Guests of all ages welcome.