Follow the life of Willow, the remarkable matriarch of a beaver colony on a wild brook in southeastern Vermont.  Naturalist Patti Smith has spent over a decade with Willow's clan, documenting their trials and triumphs.  During this presentation she will share the stories, pictures and videos that celebrate this beaver and the world she created. Along the way, meet Terrible Jack, a lonely moose, and other wildlife drawn to the habitat created by the beavers.

Truffles are the world’s most mysterious and expensive food, but they are also an essential part of the forest ecosystem, linking trees and animals in a web of relationship that extends from the forest floor to the human communities around the world that depend on truffles for their livelihoods and celebrate them in their culinary traditions. Join award-winning writer Rowan Jacobsen on this deep dive into the world of truffles, from Italy and Istria to the wilds of the Northeast.

From photographing mountain caribou from a helicopter to working with scientists capturing narwhal in the freezing waters of the Arctic, Isabelle has many field stories and photographs to share. In this presentation she highlights her work with scientists in the field, how she develops trust, builds story angles, adapts to different working environments, and how her photography and stories can help build public exposure on important science and conservation work.

Rich Holschuh and Melody Mackin of the Atowi Project will discuss the intersections between culture, language, place, and relationship with the plant nations from an Indigenous perspective.

Ferns with Bertrand Black Part of the Naturalist Journeys 2021-22 Winter Presentation Series February 16 | 6 - 7 pm EST | Free | Live via ZOOM JOIN HERE: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89045735802 Lady ferns (Athyrium filix-femina) are one of the most common and widespread ferns in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, and are familiar to…

An award-winning, much-loved biologist turns his gaze on himself, using his long-distance running to illuminate the changes to a human body over a lifetime. Part memoir, part scientific investigation, Racing the Clock is the book biologist and natural historian Bernd Heinrich has been waiting his entire life to write. A dedicated and accomplished marathon (and ultra-marathon) runner who won his first marathon at age thirty-nine, Heinrich looks deeply at running, aging, and the body, exploring the unresolved relationship between metabolism, diet, exercise, and age. 

New England’s Roadside Ecology guides you through 30 spectacular natural sites, all within an easy walk from the road. The sites include the forests, wetlands, alpines, dunes, and geologic ecosystems that make up New England. Author Tom Wessels is the perfect guide...

Most insects have a positive impact in our landscapes. Native plants can be selected to attract specific bees and beneficial insects including predatory and parasitic wasps, beetles, flies, true bugs, and lacewings. Learn about the predator-prey relationships of these flower-visiting beneficial insects and how they help keep problem insect populations in balance. The life cycles, diversity, and nesting habitat of native bees will also be covered along with examples of native plants for different site conditions.

Alpine ecosystems are rapidly changing in the face of climate change, with their avian occupants relatively understudied. From cliff nesting rosy-finches, to tundra obligate pipits and generalist sparrows, these communities face the potential for massive change in a warming environment. In this presentation, Carl Brown will discuss habitat associations that lend to climate vulnerability, potential arctic parallels, and the adventures of nest searching on alpine cliffs in the Rocky Mountains.

Birding is an activity that can bring so much joy and empowerment to everybody, but not everybody is able to go birding easily. Birdability is a brand new non-profit, based in the US but with a global reach. Through education, outreach and advocacy, Birdability works to ensure the birding community and the outdoors are welcoming, inclusive, safe and accessible for everybody. We focus on people with mobility challenges, blindness or low vision, chronic illness, intellectual or developmental disabilities, mental illness, and those who are neurodivergent, deaf or hard of hearing or who have other health concerns. In addition to current birders, we strive to introduce birding to people with disabilities and other health concerns who are not yet birders so they too can experience the joys of birding. 

(Live via Zoom) | Jill Pelto is an artist and scientist whose work focuses on communicating human-environment connections. She incorporates scientific data directly into her paintings — from local trends to global changes. Jill creates artwork that engages broad audiences with climate change data in ways that are emotionally relevant.

(Live via Zoom) | Dr. Whitecloud will discuss the role of plant knowledge among the Inuit of Southern Greenland. She and her collaborator, Dr. Lenore Grenoble, documented more than 50 taxa and 205 plant uses in seven broad categories: medicine, beverages, food, herbs and spices, fuel, ritual, and material culture, the last category consisting primarily of decorative uses.