♪ WILLEM: We're under the first snowfall of the season.

Volunteers gather at the Southeast Land Trust property in Epping, New Hampshire.

LIZZY: Hello, everybody!

Thank you for coming!

WILLEM: They prepare for an unusual event.

LIZZY: Why are we here tonight?

What's going on tonight?

WILLEM: Families arrive for what’s become a popular two-hour hike.

They'll cross fields, walk along ponds, and then disappear into the darkness.

BOY: Winter solstice.

LIZZY: Winter solstice!

That's right!

Hi.

I'm Lizzy Franceschini.

I'm SELT’s Education Program Manager, and we are here for our fifth annual glow stick solstice hike tonight.

WILLEM: Lizzy is a school teacher.

The passion she has for teaching goes beyond the classroom.

She's also an educational guide for the Southeast Land Trust known as SELT.

LIZZY: Today is technically the day before the winter solstice, but close enough.

We're celebrating the winter solstice today, which is the longest night.

So, we get to spend some time outside in the darkness celebrating that darkness rather than hiding away from it.

♪ WILLEM: Darkness begins to sweep away any remaining daylight from the sky.

Glow sticks and a few headlamps will be the only source of light guiding these young explorers along trails.

LIZZY: So, our hike today is a chance to experience something different, use some different senses, have that adventure feeling, and just push a little bit beyond the comfort zone, which is so important for kids’ development.

Who's been to a glowstick hike here with us before?

WOMAN: This is my fourth year doing the glow stick hike here at Burley Farm, and... it's lots of fun.

We like to come.

My daughter is eight years old, and it's a good way to kind of slow down at this busy time of year and connect with nature.

♪ [chatter] WILLEM: SELT owns properties throughout Rockingham and Strafford Counties.

LIZZY: In total, we have conserved 28,000 acres in the state of New Hampshire southeast New Hampshire.

WILLEM: Land protection, stewardship, and encouraging everyone to get outdoors are key to the SELT mission.

JUSTINE: My name is Justine Morse, and I became involved with SELT probably a couple of years ago.

WILLEM: Volunteers help make it happen.

JUSTINE: I have two little grandchildren that just turned two and four this past week, and they've been part of the Little SELTies program with Miss Lizzy, and they absolutely love it.

They still come and look forward to it every single season.

And then, I decided to join the volunteers, probably a couple of years ago.

Hi.

I’m Glen Morse.

Originally from Massachusetts, I moved up with my wife, Justine, about five years ago and really enjoy the area and started volunteering here just to help out in the community and to give back.

And our grandkids come and enjoy the programs here.

LIZZY: So, today on our hike, we are going to stop at different times along the way and do activities like we always do.

If you want to go ahead of me, that's fine.

Make sure you can see me and I can see you, and when I blow my whistle, you stop and come back to where I am.

WILLEM: Lizzy’s children are along to help lead the troops.

LIZZY: This is one of them.

Hadley, do you want to say hi to the camera?

They just love being outside.

They've been outside their whole childhood.

You know, they're pandemic babies, so outside was the way to be to stay out and socialize with everyone.

So, they're very used to being outside.

They love it.

Especially my oldest son; it's really a chance for him to be a leader among his peers because he's really comfortable out there.

And, he doesn't always get to be a leader in a traditional classroom, so it's a different opportunity for him out there.

♪ [chuckles] Are we ready to hike?

CHILD: Yes!

[energetically] LIZZY: Are we ready to hike?

CHILDREN: Yeah!

LIZZY: Okay!

Let's do it!

WILLEM: With that enthusiastic confirmation, the hikers are off.

♪ ♪ [chatter] LIZZY: We are going to play a little game with a parachute and some glow balls.

WILLEM: There’ll be stops along the way.

[whistling] LIZZY: Okay, let's see those listening ears on.

I'm going to explain the game we're about to play.

It's called Glow Ball Pop It.

WILLEM: It's Lizzy's chance to show the kids that learning can be active and fun.

LIZZY: Yeah.

There you go.

We need some more field players.

[cheering] Yeah.

Along the way, we're going to stop for several different activities that involve light and darkness.

And it really helps keep the kids going on a hike to have different stopping points so we can recollect as a group and have some fun along the way.

And then, we'll end with a fire and toasting marshmallows.

[cheering] We have a good strategy here with nobody on that side.

It just keeps falling right off.

[chuckling] ♪ WILLEM: This property, which SELT now owns, was conserved in partnership with the Burley family of Epping.

The family's roots run deep here; more than 200 years living and farming in the community.

♪ LIZZY: This was an ice pond back in the day when this was actually Burley Farms, and they would use this to harvest their ice and then pull it back up and keep their produce cold.

It's a little piece of history right here.

If you do not have a flashlight, you have 10 seconds to start running up the hill!

Go!

One.

Two.

WILLEM: Young hikers are released into the darkness.

Glow sticks become beacons for anxious parents.

The point is for everyone to feel comfortable in an environment that, for some, might feel uncomfortable.

LIZZY: That is the main goal for me.

I'm a science teacher by trade, so I could come out here and talk about the science of the Earth's tilts and why we have the solstice versus an equinox, but they get bored pretty quickly.

So, the idea is to get them out and having fun and comfortable.

It's those repeated experiences having fun with their friends outdoors that's going to make them fall in love with the outdoors so that they become the conservationists we need when all of us are gone and we have all this SELT land to take care of.

[uniform chatter] [chatter] WOMAN: This is my third solstice hike.

We come out every year and it is my favorite day of the year.

I absolutely love it.

I love that... it brings people together and that the most important thing is community.

And the fact that we can come and do hard things together just makes it that much sweeter.

LIZZY: Wooh!

The more we get the parents out, the more comfortable they are with it.

So, you’ve seen at the beginning when we raised hands about who's come back year after year, a lot of these people have been coming back year after year after year, and I see them out doing things on their own too because they have come out with us.

And once you get out there one time, it gets easier each time.

[chuckling] Thank you, Hadley!

PRODUCER: You have a lighting person helping!

LIZZY: Yep!

Okay... Our next stop is going to be into the woods.

CHILD: Yay!

LIZZY: Who's ready to go into the forest?

WOMAN: When you give kids more space, it makes them brave.

(impatiently) CHILD: Come on.

Let’s go.

WOMAN: It makes them brave!

And when you let kids find that inner strength, then it creates something beautiful and they know that they can be strong in all pieces of their life.

♪ WILLEM: The evening hike winds down with the last stretch of darkness.

Glow sticks give way to a campfire.

LIZZY: I knew you could do it.

WOMAN: I love it.

It's making good memories, and I think it teaches the kids that they can still enjoy the outdoors, even in what other people consider to be bad weather.

You can still find your fun and get outside and enjoy nature in all weather.

MAN: It's just nice because it's not something I’d probably do on my own every day on a snowy December day.

But when there's a lot of other kids and families, it's nice to bring them together for an event like this.

CHILD: It was great.

And I got my marshmallow top completely golden.

WOMAN: You know, I like being outside with friends whether it's daylight or not, you know?

And this is so cute to see all the kids out with their glow sticks and having fun with each other and enjoying the nature.

CHILD: Personally, I really like it.

As long as you have, like, a small light, I think it’s fine.

WOMAN: In today's world of, you know, all the technology and everything, they're outside and they're doing stuff and they're, you know, having fun with each other and embracing, you know, what New Hampshire has to offer.

♪ LIZZY: It is exciting.

I love seeing everybody out here.

It's good vibes, great energy.

It's also a relief every time I run a program and everybody returns uninjured and happy.

So, it's been a long day.

We started this morning at an elementary school running program and then came back to the office and got ready for this.

So, it's rewarding work, but it's also challenging work.

So, it's a mix of relief and happiness.

♪ [reading story] ♪ [footsteps] [footsteps]