northernwoodlands.org
Newsletter                                                                                                September 4, 2015
bullets
Dave Mance III

Mr. Trefry was my seventh grade industrial arts teacher and an avid fisherman. He showed me how to cast lead jigs, which I used over the years to catch a pile of perch. Trefry was paranoid about lead; he told all his students that when he was young he did all sorts of stupid things with metal, and that we shouldn't follow in his footsteps...

august reader photo gallery
Northern Woodlands Readers

A common theme of your August photos was young birds, from a fierce looking rose-breasted grosbeak to four phoebe siblings sitting snug on a perch. Also in this gallery, a funky looking deer, an airborne coyote, and two sawyer's assistants who were perhaps just a little too excited about their pine board stack.

View Reader Photo Gallery

We're now on the hunt for September 2015 photos. We encourage you to share images about anything that relates to the Northeast's forests, and that you take this month. Here are examples - but by no means an exclusive list - of photo topics that fit this category: nature, weather, education activities (any age), forest management/logging, recreation, wood manufacture, art, workshops, events. As long as it relates in some way to the Northeast's forests, we'll consider it.

Submit Your Photo

garden pest control
Michael J. Caduto

Encountering a snake in the garden causes many people to shriek or even panic. Yet snakes and another often unloved creature, the American toad, are among the most effective forms of pest control. If you tolerate these herpetological visitors - or better yet, encourage their presence - you'll be less likely to share your garden with ravenous bugs, or bottles of pesticide...

cattails
Tiffany Soukup

This past winter I spent three months exploring East Africa, traveling through ten different countries and covering over 8,077 miles. I was continuously impressed with how much local guides knew about their surroundings, in particular the human uses of various plants...

mystery photo
Spotted in southern Vermont; what is this?
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 one of our Season's Main Events Day Calendars. A prize winner will be drawn at random from all the correct entries. The correct answer, and the winner's name, will appear in our next e-newsletter.

This week's contest deadline is 8:00 AM, Wednesday, September 16, 2015.
carpenter ants
Congratulations to our winner Sarah Meyers! Sarah receives a Season's Main Events Day Calendar.

Spotted by Meghan Oliver in Thetford, Vermont. This trail of evidence points to whom?       


NW Answer:


Carpenter ants. 
NORTHERN WOODLANDS NEWS
Our cup runneth over. Actually, our inbox spilleth over. Either way, we have a lot of interesting news stories that cross our desks. Here were some of our favorites:
  
NATURE

A new study shows there are more than 3 trillion trees on our planet. But we're losing 15 billion of them per year. A different project looks at quality rather than quantity when it comes to forest health. On a related note, boreal forests are being threatened by warmer weather. Forestry films: An attention-grabbing ad campaign (featuring a walking tree!) aims to spread the news about deforestation and a new documentary explores the genesis of forestry in America. Strange but true: Bee backpacks are helping researchers, a waving baby panda, and the best ways to cook grasshoppers. What to do when a hiking trail becomes too popular? That's the worry in Maine. While in Vermont, mushroom foraging is a hot topic.

INDUSTRY

A big financial incentive for Vermonters to switch to wood heat, and a September 9 webinar will give New Hampshire residents information on making the move to wood. Speaking of wood heat, the ability to store pellets brings many advantages. Legislation is introduced in Maine to encourage more young loggers and truckers, New Englanders lend a hand in the fight against wild fires out West, and the college that might soon be known as Joan Weill-Paul Smith's college of the Adirondacks but as of right now is still good ol' Paul Smiths bolsters its forestry program. A new report looks at Vermont's biofuels potential, while a Maine furniture maker crafts chairs for the pope's visit.

STORIES YOU'VE SHARED

On Tuesday, September 22, the Vermont Woodlands Association will conduct a "Succession Planning for Woodland Owners" workshop in Stowe. The workshop will feature Clint Bentz, CPA, author of Ties to the Land, and a national leader in family forest succession planning. The morning's general sessions will be geared toward landowners in all stages of the planning process. The afternoon's three concurrent in-depth sessions will focus on family, financial, and legal issues. An afternoon workshop will be offered for those new to succession planning. Learn more here.

Earlier this year, Keeping Track's Sue Morse delivered the Plenary Address at the Northeast Natural History Conference in Springfield, Massachusetts. Her talk was entitled "From the Arctic to the Everglades: Skills for Every Naturalist's Toolbox," and was seen by hundreds of participants - mammologists, entomologists, botanists, ecologists, and more. She shared insights from a lifetime spent in the field studying wildlife, and illustrated her talk with her outstanding wildlife photography. Click here to watch a video of the presentation.    
conference
Anyone interested in the outdoors and willing to put some effort into acquiring some basic art skills is welcome to this two hour field drawing workshop.  The class will be an introduction to drawing using gesture, contour, and watercolor techniques to quickly record one's experience and observations of nature.  We encourage people to bring a simple set of watercolors and/or watercolor pencils, a pad, and pencils. The workshop will focus on connecting visually with nature. We will talk about the importance of using art as a communication tool to inform and elucidate the things we see as important.  Field science and field drawing are fabulous mates: both take curiosity, patience, and attention to detail. There is such a need to slow down, to be patient, in order to really experience the world around us. Drawing outdoors cultivates a kind of profound attention to the natural world and our place in it.
nona and adelaide
About the Presenters
Nona Estrin is life-long self-taught artist and naturalist who teaches workshops promoting the enjoyment of the outdoors by keeping an illustrated journal.  She has published the award winning In Season: A Natural History of the New England Year, Nona's daily illustrated nature journals with essays by her husband Charles Johnson. An outdoor enthusiast, Nona has also led walking tours in Vermont and the eastern Arctic as a guide for Country Walkers and founded the non-profit conservation group East Montpelier Trails, Inc.  She has received awards for her work creating public and conservation easements to protect open land.

Adelaide Murphy Tyrol works out of her studios in Plainfield, Vermont and New York City. She has studied at the Art Student's League, the Parson's School of Design, and received her MFA from the Art Institute of Boston. Along with her gallery work, Adelaide is a natural history illustrator and has worked with Northern Woodlands and the Wellborn Ecology Fund for 12 years. She is also co-owner of a large scenic painting studio in NYC which serves the photography and film industries.  Her natural history pieces are often 4" x 6" and her large-format work is typically 14'x40'.
Fun Extra
On the same weekend as the conference, on Saturday October 17, the Montshire Museum of Science will open a one month gallery show focused on Adelaide Tyrol's Outside Story illustrations. This weekly ecology series, funded by the Wellborn Ecology Fund, has been going strong since 2002. Visitors to the museum will view a sampling of some of her favorite works from the series, as well as some of her fine artwork. Click here for more information.

Sponsored by The Trust for Public Land, this conference explores how writers, artists, and educators express the rich forest heritage of the Northeast: both the natural history of our region and the interactions of people and place. View photos from last year's event on our Facebook page. Enrollment is limited so register today!

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