Tracking Animals in Spring
Friday, March 21, 2025
4:00-6:00PM
$10 per person
Come join Pickering staff for a spring evening of animal tracking. Most animals are active year-round, and even more begin to stir as winter transitions to spring. Learn about the signs that animals leave behind as they travel the landscape in search of resources, for exploration, and for play. We will discover ways to use our senses to explore our surroundings and find signs of wildlife in the bare landscape. All ages are welcome; children must be accompanied by an adult caregiver. REGISTER

Spring Trail Day
Saturday, March 22, 2025
9:30-11:30AM
Pickering Creek has over four miles of trail miles of trails. Help us prepare our woodland trails for visitors and upcoming spring school field trips. This will include “mulching” the Farm to Bay Trail with wood chips and lining it with branches as well as clipping back briars as needed. If you’ve enjoyed the Center’s trails this is a great way to help make sure others can enjoy them as well! REGISTER

Birdwalking with Purpose
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
8:00-10:00AM
Have fun bird watching for science at Pickering Creek. Bird watchers of all skills levels are encouraged to assist volunteer leaders with bird monitoring along the Center’s trails during this monthly bird survey. Help us collect data that allow us to track long-term trends on how birds use the Center. We have spotted and identified over 230 species at Pickering Creek! REGISTER 
Next Dates: May 6 and June 3.

Family Fishing Night on Pickering Creek’s Dock
Friday, April 4, 2025
4:30PM-6:30PM
$7 per person
Come and join us for a family fishing night on Pickering Creek’s dock. Bring the whole family and practice your fishing skills as the sun sets over the creek. Pickering Creek staff will provide fishing rods, bait, and supplies. All skill levels are welcome – staff will guide fishing newbies and celebrate fishing experts who wish to cast their luck! REGISTER

Yoga at the Meadow Viewing Platform
Saturday, April 5, 2025
8:45-10:15AM
$15 per person
Step onto your mat and into nature with Anastasiia du Hoffmann, a passionate local yoga teacher with years of love and experience in the practice. Set against the tranquil backdrop of woods and meadow at Pickering Creek, this Mellow Vinyasa Flow invites you to move, breathe, and reconnect with yourself in the heart of nature.  

Designed for both beginners and intermediate yogis, this class offers a gentle yet fluid sequence that encourages mindfulness, balance, and deep relaxation. As you flow through intentional movements, you’ll be guided by the rhythm of your breath and the soothing sounds of the natural world around you.  Bring your own mat. Rain date April 26. REGISTER

Pickering Pollinator Garden Day
Saturday, April 5, 2025
9:30-11:30AM
Help us prepare our Pollinator Garden established last year for its spring debut! We’ll clean out the garden beds, pruning and weeding as needed. We’ll add plant labels so visitors can identify native plants they enjoy. It’s a fun chance to learn about native plants you might want to try out in your yard and practice your gardening skills with both experienced and novice gardeners! REGISTER

Garden and Grounds Day
Monday, April 7, 2025
2:00-3:30PM
Come on the first Monday of each month for our Gardens and Grounds days, group volunteer days where we take care of a variety of needs at the Center. This season’s projects includes trail work, gardening, invasive plant management, and preparing our nestbox trails for spring nesting of bluebirds and Wood Ducks. REGISTER

Spring School’s Out Camp Day
Thursday, April 17, 2025
9:00AM-4:00PM
$60 per child
Spring break is here! Join Pickering staff for a day of summer like fun this spring!  Students in grades K-7 are welcome to spend the day exploring Pickering’s ponds, woods, and marshes with camp leaders Otter, Wolf, and Scoter.   We’ll enjoy some classic camp favorite activities and explore some new adventures as well.  A great day for kids who have come to EcoCamp before or are just interested in trying it out for a day! Bring your own lunch.   REGISTER

Spring Birding for Beginners
Saturday, April 26, 2025
9:00AM-10:30AM
$7 per person
Spring is as good of a time as any to get into birding, when birds that are not here for most of the year fly through Maryland to reach their breeding grounds in time for summer. Join us to learn some of the basics and explore Pickering Creek’s trails so you can start to discover some local species and gain experience identifying birds in the wild! We will become familiar with some of the common species in Maryland year-round, birds just arriving for summer, and some of the cool birds passing through for the spring. Bring binoculars if you have them or borrow a pair from us when you arrive. Good for ages 13+  REGISTER

Out on the Mudflats
Saturday, April 26, 2025
2:30PM – 4:30PM
$7 per person
Shorebirds are among the most difficult groups of birds for many birders to identify, but they are also among the most interesting because of their impressive migrations and unique behaviors. Join a Pickering Creek naturalist and learn the intricacies of identifying various types of shorebirds that migrate through our region in spring. Then, we’ll venture out into the wetlands to see what shorebirds (and other birds!) we can find. Cameras and binoculars are recommended! Binoculars are available to borrow.  REGISTER

Family Fishing Night on Pickering Creek’s Dock
Friday, May 2, 2025
4:30PM-6:30PM
$7 per person
Come and join us for a family fishing night on Pickering Creek’s dock. Bring the whole family and practice your fishing skills as the sun sets over the creek. Pickering Creek staff will provide fishing rods, bait, and supplies. All skill levels are welcome – staff will guide fishing newbies and celebrate fishing experts who wish to cast their luck!  REGISTER

Yoga at the Meadow Viewing Platform
Saturday, May 3, 2025
8:45-10:15AM
$15 per person
Step onto your mat and into nature with Anastasiia du Hoffmann, a passionate local yoga teacher with years of love and experience in the practice. Set against the tranquil backdrop of woods and meadow at Pickering Creek, this Mellow Vinyasa Flow invites you to move, breathe, and reconnect with yourself in the heart of nature.  

Designed for both beginners and intermediate yogis, this class offers a gentle yet fluid sequence that encourages mindfulness, balance, and deep relaxation. As you flow through intentional movements, you’ll be guided by the rhythm of your breath and the soothing sounds of the natural world around you.  Bring your own mat. Rain date May 10. REGISTER

Bluegrass Among the Bees
Saturday, May 3, 2025
4:30PM-7:00PM
$10 per person
A spring evening at Pickering Creek filled with music and good times. Enjoy Americana roots music on the backdrop of which it was created. Located in Pickering Creek’s pollinator garden, delight in close looks at butterflies, bees, and blooming flowers while the music fills the breeze. Musical performance by local bluegrass group, Awesome Opossum String Band. Bring your own seating whether it’s a chair or blanket. Parking is limited; advanced registration is required.    REGISTER

Garden and Grounds Day
Monday, May 5, 2025
2:00-3:30PM
Come on the first Monday of each month for our Gardens and Grounds days, group volunteer days where we take care of a variety of needs at the Center. This season’s projects includes trail work, gardening, invasive plant management, and preparing our nestbox trails for spring nesting of bluebirds and Wood Ducks. REGISTER Next Date: June 2 

Caterpillars Count
Tuesday, May 14, 2025
4:00PM- 5:30PM
Join us for the spring season kickoff of Caterpillars Count! Caterpillars Count is a community/citizen science project for measuring the seasonal variation (also known as phenology) and abundance of arthropods like caterpillars, beetles, and spiders found on the foliage of trees and shrubs. Arthropods are an important food source for birds and other wildlife. Volunteers (individuals and groups) will be surveying and counting bugs on specific trees in designated survey sites. We will provide all materials needed and guide volunteers through survey procedures as we go.  All you need is an interest and willingness to count bugs!  You can sign up for additional survey days if you catch the surveying bug!  REGISTER

All About Silk Moths
Friday, May 16, 2025
8:30PM–10:30PM
$7 per person
Fly into the fascinating world of Maryland’s giant silk moths! These unique and enigmatic moths are among the largest in North America, and spring is the best time of year to see them at Pickering Creek. Following a short presentation, we will venture into the woods to observe wild silk moths (and other nocturnal insects) attracted to special mercury vapor lamps. Possible highlights include Luna moths, tulip tree silk moths, rosy maple moths, and more. Please come prepared with a flashlight or headlamp, and a camera if desired! REGISTER

Schoolyard Habitat Service Day
Saturday, May 17, 2025
9:30AM-11:30AM
Support Pickering Creek’s work with local students to maintain schoolyard habitat.  Habitat garden helpers are needed to help water, weed, and trim back in native gardens installed by students at their schools.  Bring along your gloves, water bottles and preferred gardening tools. Additional gloves and tools will be available to borrow.  REGISTER

Sunset Family Paddle
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
6:30PM-8:30PM
$10 per person
See Ospreys, Barn Swallows and Herons grabbing their last meal for the day.  Sunset on Pickering Creek is often one of the most peaceful ways to take in the best of the Eastern Shore!

This canoe trip is great for canoers of all skill levels. We’ll cover the basics before setting off, and leisurely explore the shoreline and coves of Pickering Creek, ending with seeing the pinks, oranges and reds of the sunset while on the water.  All ages welcome, children 18 and under must be accompanied by an adult. REGISTER

Nature at Night Hike
Friday, May 30, 2025
8:30PM–10:30PM
$7 per person
Explore PCAC’s forests at night and use special UV flashlights to reveal nocturnal wildlife and unique plants and fungi not usually visible to the human eye. By the main parking lot, stop by a mothing station with the opportunity to see Luna moths and other impressive early summer species.  REGISTER