Once again Sweetbriar Nature Center will be offering daily natural science programs over the school breaks for elementary school children from 9:00am-3:00pm.  Each day will be a different natural science theme.  Each day is chock-filled with fun hands-on activities, interaction with our residents, non-releasable wildlife, crafts, games, and much more.   Parents can register their child/children for one day, two days, three days, four days, or the entire week.  

Who: Children ages 6-11y

More information on daily themes to come soon.

$85/Day or $350/Week for members

$95/Day or $400/Week for Non-members

*Full payment is due at time of registration. Refund policy applies.

Cancellation Policy

Sweetbriar Nature Center reserves the right to cancel a Discovery Day/Week session due to insufficient enrollment. If Sweetbriar cancels a session, all fees will be fully refunded.

If you remove your child from a Discovery day/week session before it begins, membership fees are non-refundable and the refunds are as follows:

If you cancel 21+ days prior to program beginning (before January 27th, 2025) 50% of session fee will be refunded

If you cancel 20-14 days prior to program beginning (January 28th -February 3rd, 2025) 25% of session fee will be refunded

If you cancel 13-0 days prior to program beginning (After February 4th, 2025) 0% of session fee will be refunded

Sorry, no exceptions will be made.

 Stay informed on registration openings and other Sweetbriar events by joining our mailing list.

Once again Sweetbriar Nature Center will be offering daily natural science programs over the school breaks for elementary school children from 9:00am-3:00pm.  Each day will be a different natural science theme.  Each day is chock-filled with fun hands-on activities, interaction with our residents, non-releasable wildlife, crafts, games, and much more.   Parents can register their child/children for one day, two days, three days, four days, or the entire week.  

Who: Children ages 6-11y

More information on daily themes to come soon.

$85/Day or $350/Week for members

$95/Day or $400/Week for Non-members

*Full payment is due at time of registration. Refund policy applies.

Cancellation Policy

Sweetbriar Nature Center reserves the right to cancel a Discovery Day/Week session due to insufficient enrollment. If Sweetbriar cancels a session, all fees will be fully refunded.

If you remove your child from a Discovery day/week session before it begins, membership fees are non-refundable and the refunds are as follows:

If you cancel 21+ days prior to program beginning (before January 27th, 2025) 50% of session fee will be refunded

If you cancel 20-14 days prior to program beginning (January 28th -February 3rd, 2025) 25% of session fee will be refunded

If you cancel 13-0 days prior to program beginning (After February 4th, 2025) 0% of session fee will be refunded

Sorry, no exceptions will be made.

 Stay informed on registration openings and other Sweetbriar events by joining our mailing list.

Once again Sweetbriar Nature Center will be offering daily natural science programs over the school breaks for elementary school children from 9:00am-3:00pm.  Each day will be a different natural science theme.  Each day is chock-filled with fun hands-on activities, interaction with our residents, non-releasable wildlife, crafts, games, and much more.   Parents can register their child/children for one day, two days, three days, four days, or the entire week.  

Who: Children ages 6-11y

More information on daily themes to come soon.

$85/Day or $350/Week for members

$95/Day or $400/Week for Non-members

*Full payment is due at time of registration. Refund policy applies.

Cancellation Policy

Sweetbriar Nature Center reserves the right to cancel a Discovery Day/Week session due to insufficient enrollment. If Sweetbriar cancels a session, all fees will be fully refunded.

If you remove your child from a Discovery day/week session before it begins, membership fees are non-refundable and the refunds are as follows:

If you cancel 21+ days prior to program beginning (before January 27th, 2025) 50% of session fee will be refunded

If you cancel 20-14 days prior to program beginning (January 28th -February 3rd, 2025) 25% of session fee will be refunded

If you cancel 13-0 days prior to program beginning (After February 4th, 2025) 0% of session fee will be refunded

Sorry, no exceptions will be made.

 Stay informed on registration openings and other Sweetbriar events by joining our mailing list.

Once again Sweetbriar Nature Center will be offering daily natural science programs over the school breaks for elementary school children from 9:00am-3:00pm.  Each day will be a different natural science theme.  Each day is chock-filled with fun hands-on activities, interaction with our residents, non-releasable wildlife, crafts, games, and much more.   Parents can register their child/children for one day, two days, three days, four days, or the entire week.  

Who: Children ages 6-11y

More information on daily themes to come soon.

$85/Day or $350/Week for members

$95/Day or $400/Week for Non-members

*Full payment is due at time of registration. Refund policy applies.

Cancellation Policy

Sweetbriar Nature Center reserves the right to cancel a Discovery Day/Week session due to insufficient enrollment. If Sweetbriar cancels a session, all fees will be fully refunded.

If you remove your child from a Discovery day/week session before it begins, membership fees are non-refundable and the refunds are as follows:

If you cancel 21+ days prior to program beginning (before January 27th, 2025) 50% of session fee will be refunded

If you cancel 20-14 days prior to program beginning (January 28th -February 3rd, 2025) 25% of session fee will be refunded

If you cancel 13-0 days prior to program beginning (After February 4th, 2025) 0% of session fee will be refunded

Sorry, no exceptions will be made.

 Stay informed on registration openings and other Sweetbriar events by joining our mailing list.

Join us for an afternoon of close encounters with wildlife.   Meet some of Sweetbriar’s cute and loveable animals, play an animal matching game for Valentine’s Day, and create a craft to remember the day.   There will be many photo opportunities including our “Animal Kissing Booth”

Families Welcome

Best for ages 2y-10y

How Much: $15/child and $5 for adults

Tickets are Nonrefundable and cannot be credited

Take a walking tour with Jim while he feeds our Birds of Prey and tells you about their incredible adaptations that help them survive in the wild. You’ll be seeing and learning about our Bald Eagle, our Turkey Vultures, our owls, hawks and many more.

How much: $10 per adult / $5 per child (Under 12y)

Join us for a fun groundhog adventure. Meet some of our animal friends and do some fun activities while learning all about groundhogs and their friends.

Families Welcome. $15 child $5 Adult

Tickets are Nonrefundable and cannot be credited

Take a walking tour with Jim while he feeds our Birds of Prey and tells you about their incredible adaptations that help them survive in the wild. You’ll be seeing and learning about our Bald Eagle, our Turkey Vultures, our owls, hawks and many more.

How much: $10 per adult / $5 per child (Under 12y)

We will be hosting Saint James resident and nature enthusiast Maureen Calamia with a free talk and book signing. This special event will celebrate the launch of her second book, The Enchanted Earth: Embracing the Power of Nature to Discover the Wild in You, published by Mango Publishing. A dedicated board member and volunteer at Sweetbriar, Maureen is using this event to support the nature center, with 50% of book sales proceeds donated to the organization.

Free event but please Register Below-

About Maureen Calamia

Maureen Calamia is an author, speaker, and advocate for biophilic design and a harmonious connection between people and the natural world. Her work inspires others to rediscover their inner wild through the transformative power of nature. The Enchanted Earth Podcast with Maureen Calamia is available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple. Visit her at www.luminous-spaces.com.

Start the new year with a Forest Bathing Walk. with one of Sweetbriar’s nature educators and forest therapy guide, Linda Lombardo.

Forest Therapy is a research-based framework for supporting healing and wellness through immersion in a forest or other natural environment​. ​It's not about distance or endurance. It's about slowing down and noticing; being mindful and connected. This walk is 90 minutes. Adults and children 15+ years are invited to register.

For more information on Linda and the press release - Click here

Following the walk is an optional Free Book Talk and Signing at 2:00 PM with Maureen Calamia, on her book, The Enchanted Earth: Embracing the Power of Nature to Discover the Wild in You, published by Mango Publishing. Learn more here:

We will have a few snacks and animals available to see between both events.

Using DNA Barcoding to Identify Sweetbriar’s Bugs!

Jeffry Petracca, Entomologist and Manager of Student & Public Research, CSHL DNA Learning Center

12/30 9AM - 5 PM

Recommended for ages 13y - Adults

Insects can often be small and seemingly insignificant, but despite their size, they are incredibly important to living ecosystems. Because of their size and the sheer number of different species out there (even here on Long Island!), they can often be tough to identify. However, we can use an insect’s DNA to identify its species through a process called DNA barcoding.

Join us for this fun, hands-on workshop where we will learn how an insect’s DNA barcode can make identification easier and quicker, especially for citizen scientists! We will examine insects collected from Sweetbriar Nature Center, extract their DNA, and perform the steps necessary to examine their DNA barcode as part of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s Citizen DNA Barcode Network program. All DNA barcodes generated from this workshop will be published to a professional scientific database with participating citizen scientists as authors! This workshop is great for high school students interested in molecular biology and life sciences, as well as lifelong naturalists who just want to learn a new approach for studying and understanding organisms and ecosystems!

Pack a lunch and something to drink.

Take a walking tour with Jim while he feeds our Birds of Prey and tells you about their incredible adaptations that help them survive in the wild. You’ll be seeing and learning about our Bald Eagle, our Turkey Vultures, our owls, hawks and many more.

How much: $10 per adult / $5 per child (Under 12y)

Hunter and Thief restaurant will be having a fundraiser for Sweetbriar Nature Center with drink specials and more.

We'll be stopping by with a few sweetbriar friends from the center. No fee to attend.

Join us for a magical afternoon at Sweetbriar's Annual Holiday Party for Wildlife! 🎄✨ Get into the holiday spirit with music, festive decorations, and heartwarming activities.

Highlights include:
🐾 Fascinating animal presentations
📸 Photo ops with our special wildlife guests🎁
🎨 Fun holiday crafts for kids and adults alike

Plus, make this season even brighter by bringing a small gift from our Wildlife Wish List to place under our beautifully decorated tree—no wrapping needed!

We’ll also have our new Chupa Chups the Squirrel ornaments available for purchase in our gift shop

This is the perfect way to celebrate the season while giving back to nature. Don’t miss this unforgettable holiday event! 🌟

Flyer if you’d like to share our event

Families are welcome. $15 per child $5 per adult

Tickets are Nonrefundable and cannot be credited