by: Karen Beattie, NCF Science and Stewardship Department Director Nantucket has experienced an uncommonly wet growing season so far this year. The abundance of rain has produced lush and verdant vegetation across the island that is persisting into the recent hot and dry weather conditions more typical of summertime on the island. Take a walk…
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The answer to that question might surprise you. Ponds are hotspots for insects, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. The combination of wildlife and ever-changing lush landscapes also attracts the human eye. We are fortunate on Nantucket; while sometimes we have “too much of a good thing” in terms of over-exuberant pond vegetation, most of our aquatic…
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This is a great time of year to take a walk through the winding trails of Squam Swamp and see the season spring to life. This trail loop off Wauwinet Rd. takes visitors through eerily shaped stands of hardwood forest and past freshwater bogs filled with vibrant mats of sphagnum moss. Bunches of Cinnamon Fern…
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As winter brightens into spring and we all suffer through the “spring forward” time change, the trees and shrubs in our landscape are beginning to awaken from their winter dormancy. But until bud burst, you can still get out there and learn to recognize more of our Nantucket Flora in winter condition — let’s hope,…
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During the colder winter months, many of our trees are “closed for the season.” Like island businesses, trees will have an “opening date” sometime in spring when flower buds will pop and leaves will unfurl. Exploring the forest in winter can be a fun way to see another facet of island ecology and learn to…
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If you happen to be wandering through Squam Swamp or Squam Farm as autumn gives way to winter, you may notice that while most of the trees have already shed their foliage, oaks (Quercus spp.) and American beech (Fagus grandifolia) may still retain old dried leaves rattling spookily in the wind. Some individuals seem to remain almost fully dressed, while…
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If you’re out and about on Nantucket this month and see super-sized umbels of white flowers that resemble Queen Anne’s lace but are the size of dinner plates, topping plants with beefy stems and large coarse leaves, it’s likely you have come across American cow-parsnip (Heracleum maximum). Typically found at the edges of wetlands and…
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As the weather begins to hint of September crispness, there are a couple of island wildflowers that signal the shift. You’ll know that change is in the air when swamp rose mallow and sea lavender reach their peak. Swamp mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos) is Nantucket’s native wild hibiscus. Rather than living in true swamps, this big…
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By Karen C. Beattie Summer is in full swing here on Nantucket – the beaches are packed, the restaurants and shops in town are at their busiest and the bike paths are congested. If you are looking for an alternative to these more common summer activities and want to be a true “Nantucket Locavore,” you…
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By Kelly A. Omand If you spend a lot of time looking upwards in the forests of Nantucket, you may have observed something sinister occurring in the canopy of our black oak (Quercus velutina) trees. When first noticed several years ago, it seemed like damage from the usual suspects; fierce storms and salt spray often…
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