Arts and Education

Community Arts

The mountainside has served as a picturesque venue for community events for years. Our summer festival continues its tradition of lively music in a fun outdoor environment and raises money and awareness for Ascutney Outdoors and our trail system.  We plan to enhance our musical and arts offerings as the organization develops and grows.

Photo by Deb Shearer

Education

Ascutney Outdoors currently hosts visits from local schools, primarily in the form of field trips to the mountain for hiking and recreational skiing.  The local community school also uses the mountain for an afterschool program.  It is our mission to provide a welcoming environment for educational programs, conservation and science organizations.

Our organization was selected by Dartmouth College as their partner for a 2016 and 2017 senior field study course, ENVS 50. Members of our board collaborate with the design and subject matter, as well as participated in class presentations and lead student study groups.  Working with Dartmouth, we have developed curricular material for local schools that will help teachers and after-school program coordinators utilize the resources at Mt. Ascutney.

In the fall of 2016 we were awarded a grant from the National Park Service for development of an interpretive nature trail that would provide additional education to visitors to the Ascutney Trails area by highlighting local ecology and natural history.