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Educator's E-newsletter
| January 13, 2012
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 A Look at the Season's Main Events Virginia Barlow Third Week of January The ventilation shafts that voles dig up to the snow's upper surface may be used by foxes to zero in on a tasty meal.
A favorite moose food item is the lichen called lungwort (Lobaria pulmonaria) that grows on tree trunks.
White-footed mice move indoors after a snowstorm.
Fourth Week of January
Dead deer are an important part of the winter diet of fishers, bobcats, and coyotes.
Mother bears will clean and nurse their newborn cubs before dozing off for a couple more months.
Look for a northern shrike perched on a small tree in a meadow: sparrows and chickadees beware.
These listing are based on observations and reports in our home territory at about 1,000 feet in elevation in central Vermont and are approximate. Events may occur earlier or later, depending on your latitude, elevation - and the weather. |
The Ecological Effects of Road Salt
Virginia Barlow
Spreading salt to make treacherous ice disappear must have seemed brilliant in the early days of its use. Naturally occurring, abundant, and cheap, road salt allows people to get to work on time and to get home again, even when slippery snow or sleet pelts through the total darkness of a typical winter evening commute...
Full Article TextDownload the Article
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 The Wonders of Winter Survival
Sandra Murphy
Bum Breathers, by Bill Amos
Bum-breathing turtles? Talk about amazing adaptations for winter survival! It's easy for students to take for granted the mystery and miracle of winter survival in all its forms in the Northern Forest ecosystem, since it occurs with such little fanfare each winter. As a class, explore the various ways animals survive winter in the Northern Forest, including torpor, deep sleep, and true hibernation. Then list as a class the animals that utilize each of these winter survival methods-from insects to large mammals. Have each student select one animal to study in-depth. Students should create an eye-catching interpretive display of their animal, using photos, illustrations, text, and any other engaging display materials to tell their animal's winter survival story.Books: Life in the Cold, by Peter J. Marchand. University Press of New England: Hanover. 1991. Best for older students. Excellent discussion of the adaptations of plants animals, and indigenous human populations to life in the cold.
Download the Teacher's Guide (This activity is on page 2) Download the Article: Bum Breathers Click here for the complete Teacher's Guide archive!
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WHAT IN THE WOODS IS THAT?
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 Our Biweekly Guessing Game!
Penny Harris of Cambridge, Vermont found this gelatinous ribbon of brown stuff on a log next to some moss. Do you know what it is?
Every other week we run a photo of something unusual found in the woods. Guess what it is and you'll be eligible to win a copy of The Outside Story, a paperback collection of our Outside Story newspaper columns. A prize winner will be drawn at random from all the correct entries. The correct answer, and the winner's name, will appear in next week's column.
This week's contest deadline is 8:00 AM, Wednesday, January 25, 2011. |
 Congratulations to our winner Gabe Roxby of Dover, NH! Gabe receives a copy of our book, The Outside Story.
The larvae pictured here may seem a bit out of place on a snowy winter's day. Who are these guys? We don't have a video for you, but they were reported to be alive and wriggling when found on top of the snow.
NW Answer: Large yellow underwing caterpillars. Johanna Vienneau of New Hampshire was quite surprised to find caterpillars writhing on top of the snow-covered ground one morning while walking out to her barn. She found about 25 in all, and wrote to Northern Woodlands for help identifying these unlikely winter visitors. We learned from Trish Hanson, entomologist for the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation, that these are large yellow underwing (Noctua pronuba) caterpillars, sometimes called winter cutworm. While it may seem odd to find a fleshy caterpillar on a January day, these cutworms are active during winter thaws, and can be found sauntering down sidewalks and wriggling into garages.
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CT Project Learning Tree Workshop: Trails to Every ClassroomFriday, January 27, 2012 9am - 3pm $40 Join this interdisciplinary professional development workshop for educators aimed at providing the inspiration, knowledge & skills to transform teaching into effective & exciting place-based education. Integrate hands-on study of the natural and cultural resources of local communities addressing concepts in ecology, botany, sense of place, recreation, and civics. Project Learning Tree (PLT) activities teach students how to think, not what to think, about the environment by using the forest as a window into the world. For more information and to register, click here. Webinar: Going Green Through the CurriculumWednesday, January 18, 2012 7pm Free National experts David Sobel from Antioch University New England, Gerald Leiberman from California's State Education and Environment Roundtable, and Jennifer Seydel from Expeditionary Learning will discuss how to incorporate the environment into your curriculum. This webinar is brought to you by Classroom Earth, the National Education Association Foundation, and the Green Schools National Conference who have partnered to help educators green their schools. Click here to learn more and to register!
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If you are an educator who finds Northern Woodlands magazine useful in your classroom, you are eligible for a complimentary subscription. Simply e-mail your completed registration form to the NWGTS coordinator Emily Rowe.
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We Welcome Your Questions and Comments
Postal Address:
Northern Woodlands
1776 Center Road
P.O. Box 471
Corinth, VT 05039
Toll-Free: (800) 290-5232
Phone: (802) 439-6292
Fax: (802) 439-6296
Email: emily@northernwoodlands.org
General inquiries form
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The mission of the Center for Northern Woodlands Education is to advance a culture of forest stewardship in the Northeast and to increase understanding of and appreciation for the natural wonders, economic productivity and ecological integrity of the region's forests. Our programs give people the information they need to help build a sustainable future for our region. Through Northern Woodlands magazine, the Northern Woodlands Goes to School program, and special publications, we make a difference in how people care for their land.
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