There’s a secret library in West Concord that you won’t find on any map or guidebook. There’s no sign and no card catalog. It’s found at the bottom of a narrow stairway in the basement of Peter Alden, Concord’s “unofficial town naturalist,” as he calls himself.
Alden wears many hats — lecturer, author, ecotourism guide, and lifelong naturalist. He’s traveled to all seven continents, led tours in dozens of countries, and written 15 books. In his basement, shelves are packed with books sorted by region, and rows of filing cabinets are filled with hundreds of wildlife images — mostly birds — documenting a life spent chasing the natural world.
“Whenever I need to put together a lecture, I come down here and grab my best images,” he says, thumbing through one of the many cabinets he had meticulously organized.
Read the whole story here: https://concordbridge.org/index.php/2025/06/03/concords-unofficial-town-naturalist-peter-alden-still-traveling-the-world