Every spring, naturalists seek the friendly faces of Spring Beauty, Red Trillium, and Bloodroot as symbols of warming temperatures and lengthening days. These dense carpets of herbaceous plants  in the forest floor comprise the majority of vascular plant biodiversity in the north woods. Yet past agricultural activity and other contemporary factors have left many modern forests without these plants, and with little opportunity for natural reestablishment. In this presentation, learn about the little-known ecosystem of dispersers, pollinators, seed thieves, and the other characters involved in the ecology of spring ephemerals. We’ll discuss factors affecting plant distribution on the landscape, and explore current research and restoration initiatives around eastern forests.

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Photography and Writing by Sean Beckett Our Virtual Nature Walks bring you to Central Vermont locations to explore the natural world as we transition into spring. Given the current events, we’ll be choosing locations that are easy to get to, have wide trails or dirt roads, and are popular (but not too popular) places for our community to get…

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By Claire Gilbertson, VT Master Gardener Following a suggestion from Chip Darmstadt, director of the North Branch Nature Center, the Master Gardeners developed an herb garden for the pollinators this year We followed the 1851 “Catalogue of Medicinal Plants, Barks, Roots, Seeds, Flowers and Select Powders….” published by the United Society of Shakers, New Lebanon,…

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By Sean Beckett, NBNC Staff Naturalist (Banner image: Baltimore Checkerspot; All imagery by Josh Lincoln) An act of clever deception is one of the most important things in the world. And that act may be in peril. Just like animals, plants reproduce by mating. More precisely, the pollen from one flower must land precisely on…

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