By Meg Muckenhoupt
Is your workplace letting everyone off for Spring Break this year? I didn’t think so. It’s just as well. Flying to the Caribbean spews a lot of carbon into the air, and there’s so much to explore at home. Animals are stirring from their winter torpor, buds are subtly swelling, and more than 500,000 herring are preparing to swim up the Mystic River—perhaps to Alewife Brook, named for those very herring. It’s fun to watch, and even more fun to watch while recording information that helps us understand our world, and how it is changing.
Winter Forest Explorations
Saturday, March 14, 9:30 AM-noon
Flynn Rink Parking Lot, Medford
Join Earthwise Aware for a biodiversity walk in the Fells exploring how seasons affect and shape our plants and wildlife in our beautiful urban forest. Space is limited. Learn more and register at earthwiseaware.org or contact Claire at citizenscience@earthwiseaware.org.
Mystic Lakes Herring Monitoring Training
Saturday, March 14, 10 AM-noon
Medford Boat Club, 481 Mystic Valley Parkway, Medford
Each spring, over a half-million river herring migrate from the ocean up the Mystic River to the Mystic Lakes and to Horn Pond. You are invited to participate in this spectacular wildlife migration by monitoring the herring once a week for 10 minutes at the Mystic Lakes. Monitoring occurs from 7 AM-7 PM every day during the migration season (April-June). This training will provide all details you need to be a monitor. Register at mysticriver.org or call 781-316-3438
Climate & Wildlife Watch at the Fells
Wednesday, March 18, 9:30 AM-noon
Long Pond Parking Lot, Winchester
The Earthwise Aware Citizen Science group assesses and documents the Middlesex Fells’ ecological communities. This is an opportunity to get introduced to EwA’s community science program and its team and work on listening, observing, and recording. Space is limited; register to save your place and get location updates. Learn more and register at tinyurl.com/ewa-citizen-science or contact Claire at citizenscience@earthwiseaware.org
Hike to the Vernal Pool
Wednesday, April 15, 10:15-11:45 AM
Mass Audubon Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, 10 Juniper Road, Belmont
Vernal pools are seasonal bodies of water created by melting snow and spring rains that create a habitat for a wide variety of life including wood frogs, caddisflies, and fairy shrimp. Join Habitat staff for a trek into the woods to learn more about this incredible ecosystem. $10 Mass Audubon members, $14 nonmembers. To register, see www.massaudubon.org or call 617-489-5050.
2020 Urban Wildlife Quests
Friday, April 24, and Sunday, April 26, 10 AM-noon
Flynn Rink Parking Lot, Medford
Saturday, April 25, 1-3:30 PM
Lusitania Meadow, 250 Fresh Pond Parkway, Cambridge
Earthwise Aware, the Cambridge Water Department, and the Friends of the Fells are participating in this year’s in the worldwide 2020 City Nature Challenge. Participants will report their observations using the iNat app on a mobile device. Space is limited. Learn more and register at ewa-2020-urban-wildlife-quest-at-the-fells.eventbrite.com.
Animals are entertaining, but this column wouldn’t be called Belmont Roots if I didn’t talk about plants, at least a little. I’ll be quick: native birds, butterflies, snakes, worms, moths, and foxes co-evolved with native plants. The little caterpillar that grows to be the moth that’s caught by the bird that’s eaten by the hawk can stand the various chemical disincentives emitted by our local oaks, willows, cherries, and sassafrass—but it can’t defend itself against the poisons in species from other lands. Grow local plants, and marvel at the life that arrives at your door. For complete details, see BringingNatureHome.net, look up the Xerces Society, or attend the talks by Grow Native Massachusetts or Habitat in April.
Designing with Plant Communities
Wednesday, April 1, 7-8:30 PM
Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge
What happens if we create planting plans focused on complete systems rather than collections of individuals? Join Grow Native Massachusetts to learn how to create healthy, resilient plant communities that are beautiful and ecologically vibrant. Dan Jaffe will discuss how to select and combine the right species for specific site conditions, and how this community-oriented approach can be applied to plantings of all sizes. For more information, visit the site GrowNativeMass.org or call 781-790-8921.
Backyards for Biodiversity
Wednesday, April 8, 10:15-11:45 AM
Mass Audubon Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, 10 Juniper Road, Belmont
Habitat has been managed to enhance biodiversity of plant and animal species for over a century. Learn from the Habitat story about how to increase biodiversity in your own backyard. $10 Mass Audubon members, $14 nonmembers. To register, see www.massaudubon.org or call 617-489-5050.
So you abandoned your New Year’s resolutions. So what? This is the first day of the rest of your life, and spring is coming. If you need new inspiration to get out and do good in this world, go check out one of the local environmental action days. There’s no commitment apart from showing up, and you might find something that inspires you to do more than just show up.
Drawdown EcoChallenge
Wednesday, April 1, 7-8:30 PM
Mass Audubon Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, 10 Juniper Road, Belmont
Join Mass Audubon’s team to take action with climate change solutions! Habitat’s team will be using Ecochallenge’s social change platform to engage our community in collective action and friendly competition. The evening will include an indoor presentation of actions you can adopt in your own home and community. Register for this free program at www.massaudubon.org or call 617-489-5050.
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