Public Tours & Volunteer Days
Public Tours
HMFC Birding Tour – April 26, 2025 8:00 am
Join Kamren Gorman, Rutgers Masters Student and avid birder on a birding tour through our old growth forest. Kamren will start the tour by discussing the local bird community and different species you may see or hear in our forest. He will then continue with a guided walk stopping to point out the birds that call the forest home. Bring your binoculars and/or cameras! Please note that you should wear long pants, long sleeves, and close toed shoes (boots, preferably). The tour will begin at 8:00 am and will start from the parking area located at 2150 Amwell Rd. in Somerset, NJ. In the case of inclement weather, the tour may be canceled. We will send out an email on the Friday prior to the tour to confirm the tour is still on and provide final details. The tour will be capped at 20 individuals, so please sign up each person attending.
HMFC Mother’s Day Flower Walk – May 11th 2025 10:00am
This Mother’s day join Lucien Fitzpatrick, Rutgers PhD student and HMF land manager on a tour through our old growth forest and the surrounding area to learn about and appreciate flowers. Lucien will lead the group around the forest to appreciate the emerging flowers while explaining various aspects of flowering including why flowers are different shapes, why trees flower at different times, and the evolutionary history of flowers. Bring your binoculars and/or cameras! Please note that you should wear long pants, long sleeves, and close toed shoes (boots, preferably). The tour will begin at 10:00 am and will start from the parking area located at 2150 Amwell Rd. in Somerset, NJ. In the case of inclement weather, the tour may be canceled. We will send out an email on the Friday prior to the tour to confirm the tour is still on and provide final details. The tour will be capped at 20 people, so please have each individual member of your party fill out the form.
HMFC Plant Tour – June 8th 2025 10:00am
Join Hutcheson Memorial Forest Director and Rutgers Professor Dr. Myla Aronson on a plant tour of our old growth forest. Dr. Aronson will discuss the plants that comprise our understory up to the trees that form our canopy. She will also highlight the unique history of HMF and current research being done. Bring your binoculars and/or cameras! Please note that you should wear long pants, long sleeves, and close toed shoes (boots, preferably). The tour will begin at 10:00 am and will start from the parking area located at 2150 Amwell Rd. in Somerset, NJ. In the case of inclement weather, the tour may be canceled. We will send out an email on the Friday prior to the tour to confirm the tour is still on and provide final details.The tour will be capped at 20 people, so please have each individual member of your party fill out the form.
Volunteer days
HMFC Volunteer Day – April 19th 2025 10:00am
Hutcheson Memorial Forest will be hosting a volunteer day to plant native trees and remove invasive plants on April 19th from 10 am to 3 pm. The day will be led by Lucien Fitzpatrick, the current land manager of HMF and PhD student at Rutgers University. We welcome you to volunteer any amount of time you can. Please note that you should wear long pants, long sleeves, and closed toed shoes (boots, preferably). We suggest bringing work gloves, if you have them, and bring water. The day will begin at 10:00 am and we will meet in the parking area located at 2150 Amwell Rd. in Somerset, NJ. In the case of inclement weather, the day may be canceled. We will send out an email on the Friday prior to confirm we are still on and provide final details. We will cap the day at 25 volunteers therefore please have each individual member of your party fill out the form.
HMFC Volunteer Day – May 24th 2025 10:00am
Hutcheson Memorial Forest will be hosting a volunteer day to plant native trees and remove invasive plants on May 24th from 10 am to 3 pm. The day will be led by Lucien Fitzpatrick, the current land manager of HMF and PhD student at Rutgers University. We welcome you to volunteer any amount of time you can. Please note that you should wear long pants, long sleeves, and closed toed shoes (boots, preferably). We suggest bringing work gloves, if you have them, and bring water. The day will begin at 10:00 am and we will meet in the parking area located at 2150 Amwell Rd. in Somerset, NJ. In the case of inclement weather, the day may be canceled. We will send out an email on the Friday prior to confirm we are still on and provide final details. We will cap the day at 25 volunteers therefore please have each individual member of your party fill out the form.
What do I need to know about attending a tour or volunteer day?
For tours, it is best to wear long plants and closed toed shoes. Boots are always best because there are areas that may be a bit wet. For volunteer days, our staff asks that you wear long pants, long sleeves, and closed toed shoes (boots, preferably). We suggest bringing work gloves, if you have them. Lastly, bring plenty of water any time you visit HMFC. When pulling into HMFC, pull in slowly and wait for an HMFC staff member to assist you with parking.
If you are attending an HMF tour or volunteer day and would like to track the different species you find, we have created checklists of the common species you can bring along!