Now that it’s officially cold and blustery outside, it’s tempting to stay indoors all the time and wait until spring to visit your favorite nature areas and beaches. But there’s always something to see on the trails, shores, and ponds around Nantucket. Since everything gets taken back to bare bones in the winter, it’s a great time…
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During the Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative Conference on Nov 1-3rd, 2013, a large group of conference attendees joined me to visit some of the largest, and likely some of the oldest, trees at Squam Swamp. These exemplary trees may provide clues to Nantucket’s land use history, teaching us more about how the forest has grown and…
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Right now, the NCF Science & Stewardship greenhouse is bursting at the seams with 20 species of native plant seedlings that will be planted in trail-side restoration and pasture improvement projects later in the season. Each year, NCF Science staff members collect seed from properties around the island where there are well established populations. We try…
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At this point in the year, we are all hungry for signs of spring. As Danielle wrote in a recent NCF Science and Stewardship blog post, peepers are singing spring songs in the marshes and ponds, and spotted turtles and snakes are emerging to bask in the sun. Otherwise, the landscape remains mainly a study…
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You might never guess that the tail end of winter would be a great time to explore the forests of Nantucket, but it is! On February 21st, a group of warmly dressed visitors met in the Squam Swamp Trailhead Parking Lot on Wauwinet Road. The objective: to explore the forest of Squam Swamp in winter. Kelly Omand,…
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Environmental Science students at Nantucket High School (NHS) have been studying the ecological impacts of non-native invasive species around the world. Just before the holidays, Research Technician/Field Supervisor Kelly Omand, a member of NCF’s year-round Science and Stewardship staff, visited the NHS Environmental Science classes. Their teacher, Mr. Hanlon, had already provided a variety of background…
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