If flowers are commonly placed on a loved one’s final resting place, why shouldn’t lichens be allowed to reside on that loved one’s gravestone? After all, a lichen on a gravestone occupies a branch on the tree of life considerably closer to the branch occupied by that loved one than a chrysanthemum. Plus, that lichen […]
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Author: EwA
Fresh Pond Almanac—July at the Meadow
July is quite an exciting time at Fresh Pond. Many people enjoy the warm, sunny days by strolling or jogging around the reservation. The beginning of the summer also comes with sudden and short, heavy rainfalls. On one Monday afternoon, we got caught in a torrential downpour. We patiently waited for the rain to subside, […]
Fresh Pond Almanac—June at the Meadow
Many insects are pollinating and reproducing, plants are growing with some of the flowers in bloom, and birds and mammals are as active as ever, capitalizing on this dynamic time through means such as predation and plant consumption. It is a beautiful and exciting time of year to visit Fresh Pond, and I enjoyed the […]
Fresh Pond Almanac—May at the Meadow
By May, summer is just around the corner at Fresh Pond, and the month sees a boom of insect life at Lusitania Meadow. Along with this late-spring boom comes all kinds of activity, from the nesting of mining bees to the arrival of insect-eating warblers. By late May, the air here and in the many […]
Caring for Frogs and Salamanders in thei...
🐸 This season, we’ve seen a lot of posts showing salamander egg masses displaced from their original anchor spots, pics of lifted masses, and of flipped logs showing red-backed salamanders. It’s fun to be on the lookout for them, but this comes with the responsibility to disturb those as little as possible. Caring Herping is […]
Forest Explorations — April in the Fells
Another month – another EwA Fells walk! Each forest exploration walk brings its load of wonders and this April’s walk wasn’t any different. April is an exciting month: vernal pools have thawed and are welcoming frogs and salamanders to breed, and the forest floor exhibits the colors of its first bloomers. Anticipation builds up, and […]
EwA Participatory Science Volunteering
Biodiversity & Climate Science Need You! 🍃 There is a critical need to understand how climate and urbanization affect plant and animal life to protect and restore habitats where they can thrive, including in our urban green spaces. EwA is doing its part! EwA runs an extensive participatory biodiversity and climate participatory science program in […]
EwA Dog Poo Data Campaign
The Fells’ Dog Poo Data Campaign Call for Field Volunteers You must have noticed poop in bags (and not in bags) in the Middlesex Fells, right? This is not just a smelly issue or an esthetic problem. Dog waste is an environmental pollutant that contaminates water supplies and is hazardous to both wildlife and humans. […]
Keeping the Fells Whole
Documenting habitat fragmentation in a mixed-use urban forest Publication: January 29th, 2022 Note the scroll on the right-hand side below to get through the whole report. You can also read it in its original StoryMap format > here. Sharing is Caring Spread the Word! ✒️ What you think is important to us. Feel free to […]
Fresh Pond Almanac—March at the Meadow
In March, conditions will make the gradual and uneven transition from harsh winter to muddy spring at Fresh Pond. March brings the onset of new plant growth for the year and the final stretch of food scarcity for the reservation’s overwintering animals before the relative bounty of April and the summer months beyond. The shift […]