DCR Pride Hike @ Great Falls Discovery Center (Turner's Falls, MA)

6/14 DCR Pride Hike @ Great Falls Discovery Center (Turner's Falls, MA)
Sunday, 10am-12pm
2 Avenue A
Turners Falls, MA

Meet at Discovery Center Main Entrance: Celebrate Pride and 56 years since Stonewall by hiking along the Canalside Rail Trail! Be in community with nature and each other as we walk and talk beside a historic canal. This hike is a 2.6-mile round trip hike on a flat, paved trail. Dress for the weather with sturdy footwear and bring water. For ages 10 and up. Bathrooms and a water fountain are inside the Discovery Center.

HIKE LEADER: Most likely hike will be led by Wren Wood (they/them/their), Great Falls Discovery Center Park Interpreter, who knows a lot about the fascinating ecology, history, & geology of Turner's Falls.

WHAT TO BRING:

• rain-gear,
• appropriate footwear
• snacks, water

CO-SPONSORS: This hike is sponsored by the Massachusett's Department of Conservation & Recreation as part of a statewide series of Pride Hikes in conjunction with local organizations like Q-MoB that offer recreation opportunities to the LGBTQ community.

WEATHER: Please check the weather in Turners Falls from your home before you leave for the hike, so that you will be able bring the right clothes to deal with any last minute changes in the weather. Weather in the Turners Falls can change quickly and it always good to be prepared for rain, wind, & unexpectedly cooler or hotter temps than were forecast the day before. We will only cancel the hike if there is a forecast of a thunderstorm or heavy rain, and we will text you should this happen the day of the hike, if you register & supply your cell phone.

ABOUT THIS SERIES OF LGBTQ OUTDOOR RECREATION ACTIVIES

This hike is part of a series of Q-MoB LGBTQ outdoor recreation activities (hiking, biking, paddling, walking, swimming) funded by the Massachusetts Office of Outdoor Recreation (MOOR) Inclusive & Accessible Events Grant Program and the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, and is designed to:

1) reduce isolation and build community connections between LGBTQ people in the Berkshires & Western Mass; click LGBTQ OUTDOOR RECREATION CALENDAR to learn about the many activities that have already been scheduled

2) build a diverse capacity in the LGBTQ community to regularly lead & offer outdoor recreation activities throughout the year; please SEND US A NOTE if you'd like to learn how easy it is to help lead outdoor recreation activities for the LGBTQ community

3) educate the community about the natural & human history of important recreation sites, as well as how the native flora & fauna are responding to climate change & human use/restoration so the LGBTQ community will fall in love with those places and the organizations that maintain them and thereby participate in stewarding & enjoying those sites. Please call us at 413-344-8162 if you know LGBTQ or allied outdoor experts who know the ecology and/or history of any of the amazing Berkshire recreation sites and might want to get paid a small stipend to co-lead.

IMPORTANT: PLEASE SEND US A NOTE if you would like to learn how you might volunteer or even get paid to help coordinate this series or co-lead a particular outdoor recreation activity, or just give us a call with your ideas and feedback: 413-344-8162.

DONATE OR BECOME A MONTHLY SUSTAINING MEMBER: Besides making a donation to Mass Audubon at the beginning of your hike, please donate $10-$20 to help assure Q-MoB can continue to offer more than 20 activities & multiple resources & services to rural queer people all over the region. If you attend 2 or more Q-MoB events/month, please consider becoming a monthly sustaining donor member. By donating $25, $50, $75, or $100/month you can help to sustain the incredible variety of activities, services, and resources Q-MoB provides and assure all of these activities are accessible to men regardless of their age, income, or ability, and best of all you can avoid having to donate at each and every event you attend. Monthly Sustaining Members pay only once a month and then can attend all our activities with no further donation.

ACCESSIBILITY: We design our recreation activities so they are relatively easy & accessible to ambulatory adults with average strength, but if you have moblity challenges and want to know our capacity to support you, please SEND US A NOTE or give us a call 413-344-8162. We are a very small non-profit with very limited access to outdoor recreation mobility devices and volunteers trained to provide accessibility assistance, but if we know about your needs, we will make our best effort to meet them, and we enjoy making our activities accessible to as broad a range of our community as possible.

MORE INFO: Contact Great Falls Discovery Center at (413) 863-3221 for more information or if you might need reasonable accessibility assistance/accomodation.