Outdoors

Hinesburgers Explore a Local Treasure   On the Saturday before Father’s Day my long-promised excursion to Williams Woods in Charlotte came to be. My two daughters, my wife and I got in the car and set off around 10 a.m. But first we had to go back to the house to connect to Google maps…...

When: Jun 22, 2024, 9 to 11 AM Where: Hayden Hill Road East, Hinesburg, VT URL: https://fb.me/e/26F95oR09   It is well known that some fungi are decomposers, but did you know that they can also eat plastic, clean up oil spills, hunt for prey, and enable trees to talk to each other? Did you know…...

The Triad Approach to a Functional Forested Landscape   We can put the ways that forests benefit our lives and our quality of life into three general categories: ecological, economic, and cultural. The ecological benefits of forests include how they clean our air and our water, regulate our climate, and do much, much more –…...

Landowners often ask me: “is my forest healthy?” While this may seem like a simple question, the more time I spend working with forests, the more difficult it is to answer. While most people picture a healthy forest as one with lots of healthy trees, when we take a more holistic and expansive view of…...

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…...

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.…...

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…...

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…...

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…...

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...

The Town Forestry Committee received over a hundred emails concerning forest closure for hunting season. Usually without any public attendance, the meeting had an all time high of twelve Hinesburg residents joining the committee members. ...

“Now more than ever,” is an oft -used cliché, but just now it truly describes our need to get outdoors for recreation and exercise...

While people try to balance getting in some outside activity while following public health guidelines to keep apart in order to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, parks and even the bike path begin to experience overcrowding...

The 864-acre Hinesburg Town Forest is many things. It is a historically important property, one of
Vermont’s early town forests, listed on the National Register of Historic Places...

Have an ache and need some pain relievers? Doctor wrote a script for upped doses of a medication? Feeling down and need someone to talk to?...

Some would argue that as a forester, it’s my job to manage trees. However, I think that the forest, the whole system, is a forester’s true responsibility...

An earlier article discussed how trail builders maintain Hinesburg’s existing trails to avoid damage from water and erosion while making it more pleasant to walk, run or ride. But our trail network is growing and that means designing and building trails from scratch...

Did you know that one of the reasons Hinesburg’s current water quality is only in fair condition is historic activities, such as the straightening of channels, creating berms next to streams, and building or filling in next to streams?...

Though there are many invasive plants common to Vermont, some species have flown under the radar. These uncommon species are considered “early detection plants.” One uncommon invasive plant is swallowwort.   Swallowwort as it first emerges. When I moved to Hinesburg 28 years ago, I discovered two small vines. I tried…...