Summer Field Seminar Calendar

Summer Field Seminars. This page features our traditional week-long, in-person field seminars we have been offering since 1987. All are intensive training opportunities that are taught by expert instructors. All involve field trips that are focused on learning about the ecology of species in their natural outdoor environment. The indoor classroom part of these seminars includes lectures, discussions, and lab identifications and studies of specimens that have been collected in the field. They begin with a Sunday late afternoon arrival and dinner at 7 PM, followed by an introductory program. Mondays through Fridays are full teaching days, with meal times as relaxed settings for informal discussions. Evenings are set aside for discussions by the fireplace in the dining hall's comfortable lounge or for follow-up classroom activities. They conclude after breakfast on Saturday.

Other Eagle Hill Natural History Programs:

Fall Weekend Workshops. These in-person and in-residence workshops offer shorter intensive learning opportunites over weekends with expert instructors. We have been offering them since 2014.

Online Seminars. These fully interactive seminars are taught online by expert instructors outside of normal work-week hours, i.e., during evenings (Eastern Time) and on weekends. They are offered by way of Zoom and are interactive without the use of recorded presentations.

Nature Retreats. The Eagle Hill Institute is open for Nature Retreats year-round, for guests who would like to escape to the coast of eastern Maine to immerse themselves in nature.

Early Registration Discounts. Save on tuition costs by registering for seminars early—6% if you register at least 8 weeks before the start-date of a seminar, or 3% if at least 4 weeks before. To qualify, your registration must be accompanied by a deposit or purchase order. Early registration discounts apply only to tuition, but are calculated before, and cumulate with, other general discounts you qualify for.

Natural History Science Programs Overview

General information and costs

Application form

Travel options, including carpooling

Dates	Title	Instructor(s)
2025 Summer Field Seminars Titles are underlined when a link to the flyers has been added. Questions about the content of the seminar should be directed to the instructors (their emails are available on the flyers or by request). For seminars marked with ^1, ^2, ^3 or ^4, see the tuition section here.

May 11–17	Field Identification and Natural History of Birds: Spring Migration^*3	Derek Lovitch
Jun 1–7	Lichens: Biology, Ecology, and Identification^*2	Troy McMullin & Philip Bell-Doyon
Jun 15–21	Marine Macroalgae: Ecology, Distribution, and Importance^*1	Amanda Savoie & Jordan Chalfant
Jun 15–21	Plant Collection and Herbarium Curation^*F	Daniel Atha
Jun 22–28	Native Bees: Diversity, Ecology, and Conservation^*2	Nicholas Dorian & Max McCarthy
Jun 22–28	Light Trapping and Lepidoptera: Artificial Light as a Tool for Collecting Moths and Caterpillars	Avalon Owens & Michael LaScaleia
Jul 6–12	Sphagnum Mosses: Ecology, Diversity, and Identification^*2	Jon Shaw & Sean Robinson
Jul 6–12	The Ecology and Identification of Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata)^*1	Bryan Pfeiffer
Jul 13–19	Wetland Identification, Delineation, and Ecology^*3	Rick Van de Poll & Joseph Homer
Jul 13–19	Trees and Shrubs of Downeast Maine	Erika Mitchell
Jul 20–26	Discomycetes and Pyrenomycetes^*1	Andrew Nicholas Miller
Jul 20–26	EPT Taxa: Mayflies, Stoneflies, and Caddisflies^*2	Steven Burian
Jul 27–Aug 2	Grass Identification: An In-depth Review^*2	Rick Van de Poll & Dennis Magee
Jul 27–Aug 2	Mosses: Identification, Ecology, and Physiology	Theresa Clark
August 3–9	Identification Skills for the New Mushroomer: Foraging for Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms^*2	Greg Marley & Michaeline Mulvey
Aug 3–9	Lichens, Biofilms, and Stone^*3	Judy Jacob & Michaela Schmull
Aug 17–23	Ferns and Lycophytes: Identification, Biology, and Natural History^*2	Robbin Moran, Alejandra Vasco, & Weston Testo
Aug 17–23	Banding Songbirds and Raptors: Livetrapping, In-hand Aging and Sexing, and Data Collection^*3	Adrienne Leppold, David Brinker, Alison Fetterman, & Todd Alleger
Aug 24–30	Bird Illustration	Dorie Petrochko

Summer Field Seminar Calendar

2025 Summer Field Seminars