This year’s Northfield Citizen Stewardship Award was presented by the Open Space Committee to the Northfield Bird Club at the Selectboard meeting on April 16. The club’s founder, Nick Fleck, present to receive the award, read one of his poems. Members of the Bird Club love birds and exploring nature, and share that love with our community.

Fleck started the group to have company on bird and nature walks. His knowledge inspired us on many years of walks. Programs have included naturalist David Brown’s tracking, warbler and beaver presentations, Dave Small and Lula Field’s insect and moth programs, a chicken dissection run by Fleck’s daughter Robin (a veterinarian), and programs by naturalists, photographers, and UMass graduate students.

As an English teacher for his career, and a lover and writer of poetry, Fleck always started meetings with a poem celebrating the natural world. Recently he has had to draw back, but members of our “loosely organized” club have worked together to continue our walks and outreach programs, even creating a float for the Northfield 350th Parade that won first prize.

Our walks and programs are free and open to all, and we sponsor at least one accessible walk every year. Spring schedule includes regular walks on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, and, in collaboration with the Dickinson Library, a program on Lyme disease on April 25, programs on meadow birds, and a live falcon presentation in August.

Our website and advertising promote our programs. Please see northfieldbirdclub.org for more information.

Patter Field

Northfield