The photos and videos on social media October 30th, 2017 were dramatic. Ocean waves in Madaket washing over the dune separating Hither Creek from the Atlantic Ocean, swirling under and around the stilt house and pushing sand into the southern end of Hither Creek. For a while during this story, it looked like Hither Creek…
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*Please note, this blog post was originally published in The Inquirer and Mirror on January 19, 2017 in the article series called Island Ecology. The Foundation’s Science staff will be regularly contributing to our local newspaper and reprinting articles here the following week.* As the shortest day of the year has passed and we officially…
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*Please note, this blog post was originally published in The Inquirer and Mirror on August 11th, 2016 in the article series called Island Ecology. The Foundation’s Science staff will be regularly contributing to our local newspaper and reprinting articles here the following week.* On the southeast end of Nantucket Island there is a large tract…
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*Please note, this blog post was originally published in The Inquirer and Mirror July 14th 2016 pg 4B in the article series Island Ecology. The Foundation’s Science staff will be regularly contributing to our local newspaper and reprinting articles here in the following week.* After a long spring drought with weeks of no rain in…
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The daffodils and crocuses may already be popping up around town in sunny spots but most of the native plants in Nantucket’s moors, grasslands and forests are still waiting for warmer and longer days to flower. Except for one! Hiding in the Middle Moors of Nantucket, in the low and open heathy expanses, the miniscule…
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February 2nd is World Wetlands Day, celebrated internationally every year since 1997 to commemorate the signing of the Convention on Wetlands in Ramsar, Iran. The Ramsar Convention represents a multi-national treaty which has facilitated work to survey, study, prioritize and conserve valuable wetland resources around the world and to promote the wise use of wetlands. World Wetlands…
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Unexplained die off of salt marsh plants, particularly along creek edges and the low tide line, has become an increasing issue along the New England coast since the 1990s. Along marsh creek banks and harbor edges, salt marsh plants (particularly salt marsh cordgrass or Spartina alterniflora) began disappearing, leaving behind large swaths of exposed soil, filled…
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Once the yellow of the goldenrod flowers begins popping up in Nantucket’s grasslands and through the road edges in the Middle Moors fall weather is not fall behind. Goldenrods are in the Asteraceae plant family – the largest plant family including sunflowers, daisies, thistles to name a few. On Nantucket, there are an estimated 20 different…
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Meadow Vole, (Microtus pennsylvanicus) The meadow vole, or meadow/field mouse, is a common species of small mammal on Nantucket and across the northern United States and Canada. As the name implies, this species prefers open grassy habitats, but it can also be found in shrublands and forests. This little mammal is active during the day and night year-round.…
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Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota) Flowering July-August A colonist from Europe, Queen Anne’s Lace is a familiar sight in old fields and along roadsides and can be found throughout Nantucket. Another name for this plant is “wild carrot”, because our garden carrots were bred from this species, which has tough white roots. The large flat…
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