News Headlines
-
Butterfly House Sets Flight at Project Native
-
Natural Gas – A “Gangplank”
-
August is Tree Check Month!
-
River Clean Up in Great Barrington
-
Stormwater Workshops (Register by 8/20)
-
Opening for Part-Time Nature Educator at Flying Deer Nature Center
Butterfly House Sets Flight at Project Native
Great Barrington – Promoting the connection between native habitats and local wildlife, Project Native has opened a Native Butterfly House open to the public at its native plant nursery on North Plain Road. An open house to unveil the new facility will be held Friday, August 16, from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
“People see a beautiful butterfly but they don’t connect it to their landscape,” Project Native Education Director Karen LeBlanc said. “With the butterfly house they will understand that caterpillars need certain plants to live and eat. If you don’t have the plants, you’re not going to get the butterfly.”
The new 35-by-55-foot structure encloses a garden of native plants grown at Project Native, all of which support the life cycle of native butterflies. Staff and visiting children have been collecting native butterflies from the Project Native property to populate the butterfly house, which is open to the public daily from 10 to 4.
“This is a great addition to Project Native,” General Manager David Ellis said. “It is a terrific educational resource and a great attraction. It will serve as the keystone for our educational programs which show the importance of native habitats in sustaining our wildlife.”
Project Native’s mission is to promote, restore and sustain native habitats in the Berkshire Taconic region. The 13-year-old non-profit organization grows native plants from seeds collected in the region and makes them available to the public with its retail/wholesale nursery, located on Route 41 in Housatonic just four miles north of Great Barrington. The fields and forests of the 54-acre former dairy farm have been largely cleared of invasive plants to restore its landscape with native habitats that include trails, a native-plant seed bank, and educational activities. Native plants, as defined by Project Native, are plants that existed in the region prior to the arrival of Europeans in the 17th century.
LeBlanc first conceived of the butterfly house after placing caterpillars in small butterfly huts on the property. Soon she discovered that visitors and staff were fascinated by watching the life cycle as a caterpillar becomes a chrysalis and then emerges as a butterfly and proposed building a structure large enough to contain permanent plantings and facilitate learning.
“We just had this little spicebush swallowtail caterpillar and decided that we had to make this bigger,” LeBlanc said.
Donations from two board members and a grant from Berkshire Bank allowed Project Native to build the $20,000 structure this spring. Groups of children have gone on butterfly safaris for several weekends in search of caterpillars and butterflies to populate the enclosed garden. Two interns, “Peter Slothower of Ithaca, NY, and Ellen Drews of Oak Park,” have helped LeBlanc put together education programs for the new garden and lead personalized tours.
“It’s so important that it be about the habitat and the life of the butterfly, otherwise it’s just a zoo where you just look at animals but walk away not really understanding anything new about nature,” LeBlanc said. “Our butterfly house is a catalyst to learn about what is going on around you with the habitat and environment. It’s sometimes hard to get people interested in plants, especially children, but give them something that crawls and has wings and they are a lot more interested.”
Some of the butterflies in the house now include the great spangled fritillary, monarchs, tiger swallowtails, black swallowtails, spicebush swallowtails, as well as several moths. The early reaction from visitors has been very enthusiastic.
“We had one person who thought we had painted gold on the monarch chrysalis, but no – that’s just the way Mother Nature works,” LeBlanc said. “It’s been so exciting to watch and learn as we do this. They’ve become like our own pets. We want to see how they are doing and the ways they are developing. It’s a wonderful thing to watch.”
Project Native is open from 9:30am – 5:00pm Monday through Saturday and 10:30am – 5:00pm Sunday, from mid-April through November. For more information, visit www.projectnative.org or call 413-274-3433.
Natural Gas – A “Gangplank”
from Conservation Law Foundation
A thoughtful New York Times opinion piece from an oil and gas engineer, Anthony R. Ingrafea, recently noted that:
“gas extracted from shale deposits is not a ‘bridge’ to a renewable energy future – it’s a gangplank to more warming and away from clean energy investments.”
The leaks of methane from gas production and transportation overshadow any advantage natural gas might have over oil in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.
Even if natural gas burns cleaner it is still a fossil fuel. It still contributes to climate change. It still ties us to a dirty fuel at a time our climate demands we move toward cleaner sources.
It is disappointing to hear Vermont Gas and others tout claims that natural gas is clean and affordable. Glossing over the real impacts doesn’t eliminate them. As the cartoon says, it is time for a little honesty. Time for some real action toward clean energy as well.
August is Tree Check Month!
Have you checked your trees for invasive wood-boring beetles?
Asian Longhorned Beetle and Emerald Ash Borer are two invasive insects threatening trees throughout Massachusetts. Your help is needed to prevent their spread. Take a little time this month to check your trees for beetles and signs of damage; find out how at http://bit.ly/treecheck. After you’ve checked your trees, email stacy.kilb@state.ma.us and we’ll send you a free sticker or a button!
River Clean Up in Great Barrington
Volunteer for the River! Participate in a river clean up organized by HVA and BEAT Saturday, Aug 10, 9am – 1pm. Meet at Housatonic River Walk at the end of Church Street, Great Barrington. Help remove miscellaneous trash from the Housatonic River above and below Bridge Street. Wear old clothes, boots or sneakers. Bring hat, sunscreen and water bottle. A picnic lunch and snacks, work gloves and trash bags are provided. Registration is helpful for clean ups! Pouring rain or thunder cancels. Please call HVA at 413-394-9796 or call BEAT at 413-230-7321 or send an email to jane@thebeatnews.org or adixon@hvatoday.org. Cosponsored by Great Barrington Land Conservancy, Housatonic Riverwalk, Greenagers, the City of Great Barrington and American Rivers.
Stormwater Workshops (Register by 8/20)
Learn how to halt pollution that harms your town’s water at unique training by the MA Watershed Coalition (MWC). This Stormwater Advocates Training (SWAT) offers a mix of stimulating workshops and fieldwork for people who want to help their communities reduce polluted runoff.
Local streets are pollution pathways that convey hot, dirty, oily storm runoff into streams and ponds. These pollutants accumulate and cause the steady decline of urban and suburban waterways.
Fortunately, there are effective and inexpensive practices to fix stormwater problems. Expert speakers will present valuable guidance and participants will receive MWC assistance in selecting practices to achieve the most pollutant reduction for the least cost.
SWAT training is offered on August 24 & 29 in Northampton. The registration fee is $40 for two workshops, materials and refreshments. Pre-registration is requested – please phone 978-534-0379, or email bgy@commonwaters.org by August 20.
A detailed description is online at www.commonwaters.org/events/be-a-stormwater-advocate. Please forward this notice to anyone who may be interested – all are welcome.
Opening for Part-Time Nature Educator at Flying Deer Nature Center
Flying Deer Nature Center seeks an individual with a deep personal connection with nature and a desire to be a leader in an organization with a great vision and potential. The person we are seeking derives fulfillment from helping youth develop their relationships with nature and community through naturalist education and wilderness skills as well as stories, songs, and games, and is an excellent role model.
Individual will provide mentoring and instruction in Flying Deer’s educational programs including home-school, after-school, and school-based programs. Potential for future full time employment.
QUALIFICATIONS
The individual we are seeking has the following qualifications:
- Is aligned with our mission, sharing our core values of peacemaking, team building, and respect for Nature;
- Is skilled at the basics of naturalist knowledge and survival skills
- Is a comfortable and charismatic leader who generates energy and enthusiasm;
- Enjoys being a role model;
- Is a mature communicator who can give and receive feedback well;
- Is confident, fun-loving, and values a sense of humor;
- Preferably, has a college degree in a related field.
This opportunity could be combined with work at the Abode Farm, a visionary organic farm neighboring FDNC, to create a full-time employment.
Interested individuals should send resume and cover letter to Michelle Apland, Executive Director, at michelle&dev@flyingdeernature.org
ABOUT FLYING DEER NATURE CENTER in New Lebanon, NY
Our mission is to educate and mentor children and adults in deep connection to nature, self, and community. Find out more.
Flying Deer Nature Center
5 Abode Road
New Lebanon, New York 12125