Tim Puopolo of SCA/AmeriCorps introduces the wildlife refuge and program to the crowd from inside Assabet River NWR's Visitor Center. - Photo Credit: Kathryn Nathenson/SCA

The program ends with traditional White Pine Tea and a legend about an Ojibwe boy in the wintertime, and why you shouldn't leave your family camp until the spring arrives. - Photo Credit: Kathryn Nathenson/SCA

These taxidermy owls served as excellent props to familiarize the visitors with what to look for during an Owl Prowl. The group was lucky enough to have a Barred Owl swoop overhead on their walk. - Photo Credit: Jared Green/USFWS

Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge in Sudbury, MA brings in a wide variety of visitors from the Greater Boston area to learn about the local wildlife. November's programming took a different spin on nature and looked through the lens of the indigenous people. The rich history of Massachusetts and its natural beauty was explored through an Owl Prowl with campfire stories, a full moon hike under the supermoon (known locally as the "Beaver Moon"), and a Native American heritage hike.

Visitors learned about where the local tribes were, what kind of survival techniques they would use to make it through the winter, and highlights from one of the largest battles of King Philip's War - that occurred right on refuge land! Families gained a greater appreciation for the resources around them as they learned how to live a day-in-the-life of a local tribe, and even used their imaginations to transform an old military ammunition bunker into an active Nipmuc longhouse.

Algonquin legends starred the usual cast of characters for this region: the great-horned Oowl, the American robin, the gray fox and the black bear. Each story had a valuable lesson to teach. The guests at Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge also got to taste-test the Vitamin C boost of the white pine tea that kept many Native Americans healthy through these winter months.

Native American history and heritage is important to teach and to keep alive because it provides a link between our daily lives and our ecosystem through the lives of thousands that have lived here before us. Winters in Massachusetts may be harsh, but they're not impossible. People were living in these forests as little as 300 years ago, and the wildlife we've come to enjoy survives these winters EVERY year.