Fall Forest Weekend

New York City has its own forest primeval: the Thain Family Forest at the New York Botanical Garden, the city’s largest remaining tract of old-growth forest (meaning that it has developed without disturbance for many years). The garden is honoring this woodland treasure with special activities: tours of the forest; tree-climbing demonstrations by arborists; guided canoe trips on the Bronx River; a Saturday bird walk and, on both days, bird beat-boxing (think of it as a hip-hop variant on bird calling) and, at 1 and 3 p.m., demonstrations with live birds of prey, during which visitors will encounter hawks, owls and falcons and learn about their adaptations. Through Nov. 13, children can also visit the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden for “Tree-rific Trees,” a program in which they can observe sections of a giant sequoia and a white oak and learn how trees develop and age.