Our Interests
Programs We Offer
Journals We Publish
Our Campus and Nature Reserves
Individual and Group Retreats
About Downeast Maine
Community Engagement
About Us
Donate Now
Contact Us
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
Travel options, including carpooling
| Dates | Title | Instructor(s) |
2025 Summer Field SeminarsTitles 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 F,see the tuition section here. | ||
| May 17–23 | Marine Polychaetes: Biology and Ecology | Karl Koehler |
| May 31–June 6 | Building Birding Skills: Field Identification & the Natural History of Birds3 | Derek Lovitch |
| June 7–13 | Advanced Quartet Studies (By Invitation Only) | Ferdidand Liva |
| June 7–13 | Scientific Illustration | Nancy Lowe |
| June 14–20 | Liverworts and Liverwort Ecology1 | Blanka Aguero |
| June 14–20 | Sedges: Identification and Ecology | Lisa Standley |
| June 21–27 | Native Bees: Diversity, Ecology, and Conservation2 | Nick Dorian & Max McCarthy |
| June 21–27 | Introduction to Mosses: Diversity, Ecology, and Physiology | Theresa Clark |
| June 21–27 | Practical Boating CourseF | Craig Shipp |
| June 28–July 4 | Lichens, Biofilms, and Stone3 | Judy Jacob & Manuela Dal Forno |
| June 28–July 4 | Introduction to Lichens1 | Ian Medeiros |
| July 5–11 | Lichen Systematics3 | Manuela Dal Forno |
| July 5–11 | Tardigrade Biology, Ecology, Field Sampling, and Identification | Emma Perry |
| July 12–18 | Wetland Identification, Delineation, and Ecology3 | Rick Van de Poll & Joseph Homer |
| July 12–18 | Adobe Lightroom Classic and Creative Cloud for Naturalists | Erika Mitchell |
| July 19–25 | Grass Identification: An In-depth Review2 | Rick Van de Poll & Dennis Magee |
| July 19–25 | Trees and Shrubs of Downeast Maine | Erika Mitchell |
| July 19–25 | Practical Boating CourseF | Craig Shipp |
| July 26–August 1 | Identification Skills for the New Mushroomer: Foraging for Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms2 | Greg Marley and Michaeline Mulvey |
| July 26–August 1 | Ant Biodiversity, Natural History, and Collective Behavior | Jane Waters |
| August 2–8 | Advanced Bryology: Taxonomy & Microscope Techniques for Moss Identification | Theresa Clark |
| August 9–15 | Ferns and Lycophytes: Identification, Biology, and Natural History2 | Robbin Moran, Alejandra Vasco, & Weston Testo |
| August 9–15 | Spider Ecology, Biology, and Identification | Matthias Foellmer |
| August 16–22 | Banding Songbirds and Raptors: Livetrapping, In-hand Aging and Sexing, and Data Collection3 | Adrienne Leppold, David Brinker, Alison Fetterman, & Todd Alleger |
| August 16–22 | Insect Tracks and Sign | Charley Eiseman |
| August 23–29 | Mushrooms under the Microscope2 | David Porter & Michaeline Mulvey |
| September 13–19 | Introduction to Ascomycota and Independent Studies2 | Jason Karakehian |
| September 13–19 | Bryophilous Fungi3 | George Greiff |