While some people call all evergreen trees “pines,” pines are actually a distinct group of closely-related trees in the Pinus genus. While Vermont is home to four species of native pines, the two most common are Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus), and red pine (Pinus resinosa). Of these two species, white pine is by far…
Category: Outdoors
Lewis Creek Association and United Church of Hinesburg to Restore Wetlands
and Kate Kelly, LCA Program Manager Lewis Creek Association is excited to announce that funding from Watersheds United Vermont and the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VT DEC) will allow us to convert a playing field behind the United Church of Hinesburg (UCH) back to a wetland. We have contracted with K. Bellavance, who…
Turtles Must be Left in the Wild
and from VT Fish & Wildlife press release The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department says keeping native turtles as pets is prohibited because it can harm the turtle and pose threats to wild turtle populations. “Capturing a wild turtle and keeping it as a pet, even if only for a short time, is…
Everything Grows
Amazing things pop out of the ground locally This report began as a small testament to the local growers of flowers and produce. It quickly became a wonderful journey of discovery, uncovering agricultural and horticultural delights that are surprisingly abundant for a small town – and the earth-loving people who make it all happen….
Celebrating Nuance
On a recent episode of the On Being podcast, journalist Amanda Ripley was quoted as saying: “real life is not a bumper sticker.” I was struck by how true this is for forests and for forest management. As much as we would like to believe that taking care of forests is simple, in truth it…
Cryptic Function Loss
Each of our native species occupies an ecological niche, influencing the ecosystem around it in different ways. The more we learn about forests, the more we discover how critical each species is to their health and function: from towering trees to tiny invertebrates, from the bats that regulate populations of defoliating insects to the rodents…
Animal Personality
Each of Vermont’s tens of thousands of native species fills an ecological niche, influencing its environment and the species around it in different ways. While an important component of managing for healthy, biologically diverse forests includes managing for species diversity (different species of wildlife, trees, and plants), there are also differences in behavior between individuals…
Reflection, Recognition and Renewal
Submitted by Lori Hennessey On a warm sunny day in September, a new replacement Eagles Trail sign was revealed to former Scoutmaster Russell Berger as he was surrounded by family. At the Town Forest trail entrance at Hayden Hill East, hikers and community members are now greeted with the familiar trail and a freshly minted…
Effort to categorize Hinesburg’s natural resources launched
Development is underway of a map that details an “inventory” of Hinesburg’s unique natural resources.
Herbicide treatment to kill milfoil in Lake Iroquois 7 years in the making
Milfoil — an invasive water-weed that forms dense mats of vegetation and readily reproduces when boats chop up the strands — may soon be tamed in Lake Iroquois after recent treatment with an herbicide.