Initial Publication Date: December 12, 2013 | Revision: June 17, 2025 (see revision history: 2 events)

Northeastern Section

Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, Connecticut, and all Canadian provinces east of Ontario

Upcoming Events: Summer 2025

Fire, Ice, and Jurassic Armored Mud Balls: AN AMAZING TRIP TROUGH TIME IN THE CONNECTICUT RIVER VALLEY

DATE: Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025, 10:30 am to 4:00.

TRIP LEADER(s): Prof. Richard Little with other local geologists

COST: Free* (see important notes below)

· This trip includes the First Light Power Co.'s "Heritage" pontoon tour boat trip from Northfield to Turners Falls (Barton Cove) and return. YOU MUST RESERVE THIS $15 TRIP WITH www.Bookeo.com/northfield. The date is Aug. 10 and the departure time is 11 am for this 90 minute river tour. Bookeo Booking will start on June 25^th. Seating is limited, so don't forget!

· The trip leaders are donating their time. Participants are encouraged to donate to support the legislative effort to have the unique Jurassic Armored Mud Balls ("JAMBs") designated an official State Sedimentary Structure. Donations can be made on the day of the trip or anytime at this Go Fund Me site: https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-the-armored-mud-balls

TRIP DESCRIPTION:

(1) Meet at 10:30 in the parking lot for the boat trip: 144 Pine Meadow Road, Northfield, MA 01360 Note the Heritage boat leaves the dock promptly at 11 am!

(2) Drive to Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Ave A, Turners Falls. Picnic lunch (on your own). View and discuss the rare JAMBs!

(3) Drive to Highland Park, Greenfield. Park in the gravel lot at the trail head. (Drive past and downhill of the Tennis Courts.)

We will walk along an easy woodland trail with perhaps 20 feet of elevation gain, to the cliff base of the Jurassic Deerfield Basalt. To be discussed: origin of the lava – on land or in water (a Jurassic Lake)? The answer is both! You will see beautiful lava columns and also pillows.

(4) View the landscape from Poet's Seat Tower: 70 Mountain Rd, Greenfield, MA 01301, a short drive from Highland Park.

RESERVATIONS: Send your name and number of participants via email to Prof. Little at RDLittle2000@aol.com. Reminder, you must make your Heritage boat reservations for the Aug. 10th 11 am cruise starting June 25. Seats are limited.

Other notes: If river conditions or other factors cancel the boat tour, we will still meet at 10:30 and explore some interesting land sites. Dress for the weather and let's hope for the best! If extreme weather conditions cause the boat tour to be cancelled, we will also cancel the trip.

For more information, please contact Richard Little. RDLittle2000@aol.com; (413) 527-8536; https://ArmoredMudBalls.rocks; Connecticut River Cruise - FirstLight

Connecticut River Cruise - FirstLight

Past Events

July 2023: Susan Meabh Kelly co-facilated a round table discussion about NAGT's DEI initiatives during the 2023 Earth Educators Rendezvous, as well as a two day workshop on qualitative methods.

March 2023: The section organized a luncheon during Joint GSA Section Meeting on Sunday, March 19th at 12:00 PM. New England, Eastern, and South Eastern NAGT members were invited, as well as general meeting registrants.

October 2022: The section organized an informative geological field trip for K-12 teachers in conjunction with the New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference.

August 2022: Susan Meabh Kelly had been invited to contribute to the four day Second National Conference: Justice in Geoscience in Washington, D.C. This was part of the AGU Chapman conference series.

The section hosted an informal evening gathering with live folk music at a central Connecticut farm/brewery (Hops on the Hill) on Saturday, August 20th, 4 - 6 PM.

July 2022: Susan Meabh Kelly hosted a round table at the 2022 Earth Educators Rendezvous. The topic was geoscience learning ecosystems.

May 2022: The section hosted a webinar dedicated to exchanging ideas and resources for K-5 NGSS Earth and Space Science on Monday, May 9th, 7:00 - 8:00 PM Eastern.

March 2022: The section hosted a luncheon during GSA NE Section Meeting on Sunday, March 20th at 12:00 PM. The $27 ticketed event was an option that was part of the meeting registration. Members participating included those from NE and Eastern section.

January 2022: The section sponsored a virtual talk on applying indigenous knowledge to restore indigenous landscapes on Monday, January 17th, 7-8 PM Eastern. A book written by the invited speaker, Dr. Jessica Hernandez, had been scheduled to launch the following day.

December 2021: Susan Meabh Kelly was an invited panelist at the 2021 American Geophysical Union meeting. The panel, entitled Inclusivity in the Geosciences, was scheduled on Wednesday, December 15th.

November 2021: Lindsay Waack represented NAGT-NE at the tri-annual NSTA District I Retreat on the campus of the University of Connecticut.

July 2021: Lori Weeden facilitated two fee-free webinars dedicated to K-12 integration of climate change as part of the University of Massachusetts/Lowell's NSF-funded Climate Change Initiative.

July 2021: Susan Meabh Kelly convened an afternoon workshop at Earth Educators' Rendezvous dedicated to 9-14 integration of archived and real-time geoscience data. The workshop is entitled: Facilitating Student Exploration of Local Environmental Challenges via Mathematics and Computational Thinking.

Show Select Past Events

May 2021: Susan Meabh Kelly co-presented a session on justice-centered climate change activities during the National Science Teaching Association's virtual conference on Saturday, May 1st at 3:30 PM Eastern. The session is entitled Beyond Polar Bears: Disproportionate Impact of Climate Change on Low-Income and Marginalized Communities' Health.

March 2021: The section organized a panel session during GSA Northeastern meeting on Sunday, March 14th -- "Is Geology at a Crossroads?" The panelists helped stir discussion about the status and future of K-16 geoscience education in New England.July 2020: Lori Weeden's NSF-funded Incorporating Climate Change into Your Classroom was offered as a 1.5 day online workshop for K-12 teachers.

June 2020: Lindsay Waack organized a free, self-paced, online workshop for secondary teachers who teach Earth Science or integrate Earth Science into high school Chemistry and Physics as part of NGSS. The focus was making sense of cloud phenomena via observations and content knowledge. This workshop integrated resources Lindsay had explored as part of the American Meteorological Society's Project Atmosphere program, and included video demonstrations, explanations, and instructional resources. Link: https://tinyurl.com/AMSpressureclouds.

March 2020: Tarin Weiss and Lori Weeden organized an NAGT-sponsored session at the Joint Section Meeting of the Geological Society of America in Reston, Virginia on March 20-22, 2020. The session was entitled: Active Learning and the Use of Technology in the Geoscience Classroom. The meeting was canceled due to COVID-19.

December 2019: Organized and hosted by Tom Vaughn, the annual section meeting took place at Middlesex Community College in Bedford, Massachusetts on Saturday, December 7th. John Ebel, Boston College, shared highlights from his recent book, New England Earthquakes: The Surprising History of Seismic Activity in the Northeast, while John Hepburn, Boston College, traced sequence of events that led to formation of Avalon and Nashoba terranes.

July 2019: Lori Weeden organized a professional development workshop for K-12 teachers in Lowell, Massachusetts entitled: Incorporating Climate Change into Your Classroom. This workshop was supported by NAGT-New England Section.

November 2018: Susan Meabh Kelly chaired an NAGT Education Section-sponsored theme session at the national Geological Society of America meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana entitled: Collaborative Partnerships between K–12 Teachers/Informal Educators and Scientists https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2018AM/meetingapp.cgi/Session/45539

March 2018: Melissa Lombard, Tarin Weiss, and Lori Weeden chaired a theme session at Geological Society of America-Northeastern section in Burlington, Vermont entitled Geolore: Local Geology Field Trips Merge Geology and History to Motivate Students, Teachers, and Community Members to Explore Natural Areas. NAGT-New England Section also sponsored a lunch for the geoscience community.

May 2017: Melissa Lombard presented a session at the STEM Educators' Summit in Concord, New Hampshire titled: Diving into Teaching with the NGSS Science Practices. The session highlighted strategies outlined in the book she co-authored, Dive In! Immersion in Science Practices for High School Students, published by NSTA Press.

December 2017: Annual meeting at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

December 2014: Samuel Bowring, host of the fall meeting organized by Tom Vaughn, shared his insight about the probable causes of mass extinctions. Tours of his Radiogenic Isotope Laboratory complemented the informative talk (http://isolab.scripts.mit.edu/isolab/). Sam Bowring, the Robert R. Schrock Professor of Geology at MIT, also generously donated his honorarium towards student research. A University of New Haven student was awarded the funds.

March 2014: New England Geological Society of America Meeting, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

March 2012: New England Geological Society of America Meeting. Several NAGT-sponsored sessions, including: Technology Integration in K–16 Geoscience Education, Footsteps of Dinosaurs: A Guided Tour of Dinosaur State Park for K–16 Educators, and Inquiry-Based Activities: Examples and Effectiveness.

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