Boston Flora

Tag: Field Trip

  • Saturday, August 22, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm – Design Clinic with Walter Cudnohufsky

    This seven-hour, fast-paced, information-saturated Berkshire Botanical Garden clinic on Saturday, August 22, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., focuses on common design principles, problem solving, conceptualizing a landscape master plan, and more fully understanding the design process. The clinic will focus on several selected homes/properties in the vicinity of BBG. It may include one or more of the workshop participants, or their clients’ properties. Should time permit, we may visit one or more projects completed and/or in process by the leader.

    All attendees will participate in the process of observing and conceptual designing. This field trip is held rain or shine; please dress appropriately for the weather. This clinic is ideal for making you a better, more engaged client for professional design services, or to advance your ability to know your own mind relative to design.

    Guest Instructor Walter Cudnohufsky, M.L.A., is a long-time dedicated teacher and artist (see image below.) Having founded and for 20 years directed the nationally acclaimed Conway (MA) School of Landscape Design, he has honed a reasoned approach to planning design. Register at https://www.berkshirebotanical.org/design-clinic-walter-cudnohufsky. BBG members $130, nonmembers $160.

  • Saturday, October 28, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Vines and Creepers

    Wetland and disturbed areas are often a tangle of woody and herbaceous vines, creepers, brambles, and briars. Ever wondered about the differences among these groups of plants and how they twine, creep, climb, and scramble? Learn to identify a dozen species on this easy walk through successional vegetation. This field trip is sponsored by Native Plant Trust and will be led by Neela de Zoysa on October 28 from 2 – 4 at Wolbach Farm in Sudbury. The Farm is a Sudbury Valley Trustees property. $30 for NPT members, $36 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/vines-and-creepers/ Wear long pants.

  • Saturday, November 17, 7:00 am – Plum Island Migrants

    Head out on Saturday, November 17 with bird conservation researcher Zeke Jakub on an all-day outing in search of late fall and early winter coastal migrants, ending with a warm-up local meal and camaraderie. Meet at the Miller’s River Environmental Center, 100 Main Street in Athol at 7 to carpool, or call ahead to meet the group at 8:30 at Burger King on Rt.110, Salisbury. Mid-day stop at Birdwatchers Store. Bring lunch and FRS’s. Optional second day South Shore trip. Overnight at your convenience. We will reconvene the next morning and slowly make our way from Boston south stopping at all the traditional birding spots in a leisurely fashion. Info: ezelieljakub@gmail.com. Photo by Chris West at www.chris-west.blogspot.com.

  • Saturday, August 28, 10:00 a.m. – Fern Identification Workshop

    Field trips are a long standing tradition of the Connecticut Botanical Society.  They provide an opportunity to learn about plants and habitats from some the area’s most knowledgeable botanists, and an opportunity to share your own knowledge with others.  The trips also add to the bank of knowledge of New England flora.  On each field trip, a list is made of all plant species identified, and this list becomes part of the Society’s records.  The Connecticut Botanical Society encourages the gardening public to participate in this Fern Identification Workshop at 55 Harvest Lane in Glastonbury, Connecticut, led by Casper Ultee, Past President of CBS.  Although many ferns are readily identified, some are easily confused with similar species.  This workshop will focus on those and others that are less common.  You may bring your own problem specimens (fronds only, no complete plants, please).   This workshop is limited to ten participants, and pre-registration is required by contacting the leader in advance at 860-633-7557. For field trips, wear sturdy footwear and bring a lunch.  Sunscreen and insect repellant are also recommended.  For plant identification, you may wish to bring a field guide(s), a hand lens, and a small notebook.  Familiarity with plant taxonomy is helpful, but not required.    Free to CBS members.  Non-members must pay a $15 fee, which includes a one-year membership in CBS, and entitles you to join future trips this season at no additional cost.  For more information and directions, call Casper Ultee at the number above, or log on to www.ct-botanical-society.org.

    http://orgs.okstate.edu/botanical/Images/others/Side_Fern.png

  • Sunday, August 8, 9:00 am – 12:00 noon – Sin and Flesh Brook

    We just couldn’t resist reporting on this New England Wild Flower Society field trip in Tiverton, Rhode Island on Sunday, August 8, from 9 – noon.  The loveliness of this meandering brook belies its lurid name, given to it in colonial times following a bloody encounter between resident Pocasset Indians and a Quaker preacher in transit to Newport, RI. The stream flows through a beautiful eighty-acre maritime hardwood forest, Fort Barton Woods, a site reeking with history and plant diversity. Streamside wetlands, vernal pools, and glacial upland soils provide an opportunity to see an impressive array of wild flowers and ferns. The terrain is rugged so the walk will require good stamina, and participants should dress for muggy, August forest conditions.  Garry Plunkett will lead, and the fee is $24 for NEWFS  members and $27 for nonmembers.  Directions and registration will be found at www.newfs.org.

    http://www.coverarts.com/blog//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/vintage-classic-cover-art-R-A-Maguire.jpg

  • Saturday, November 14, 10 – 2 – Lichen Identification Workshop

    This will be an intermediate workshop on lichens. Participants are expected to know basic lichen information. Participants should have the book MicroLichens of New England by Hinds and Hinds or photocopied keys from this book. We will use this lichen key and a few chemicals necessary for identification. Please register by contacting the leader in advance (limit 10). Bring a 15x hand lens or low power microscope. Bring lunch and a beverage (microwave and refrigerator are available). Bring the macrolichens that you wish to work with in the class. We will briefly key several lichens that I will bring, but this is a workshop to learn to key any lichens you find in the field, and especially problematic lichens.

    Field trips are a long standing tradition of the Connecticut Botanical Society.  They provide an opportunity to learn about plants and habitats from some the area’s most knowledgeable botanists, and an opportunity to share your own knowledge with others.  The trips also add to the bank of knowledge of New England flora.  On each field trip. a list is made of all plant species identified, and this list becomes part of the Society’s records.  The Connecticut Botanical Society encourages the gardening public to participate in this Lichen Identification Workshop in Hamden, Connecticut, led by Carol Lemmon, President of CBS.    For field trips, wear sturdy footwear and bring a lunch.  Sunscreen and insect repellant are also recommended.  For plant identification, you may wish to bring a field guide(s), a hand lens, and a small notebook.  Familiarity with plant taxonomy is helpful, but not required.    Free to CBS members.  Non-members must pay a $15 fee, which includes a one-year membership in CBS, and entitles you to join future trips this season at no additional cost.  For more information and directions, or to register, call 203-488-7813, or log on to www.ct-botanical-society.org.

  • Sunday, September 27, 11 am – 3 pm – Hop Brook Floodplain Walk

    The secluded Tyringham Valley is one of the most scenic areas in the southern Berkshires.  This field trip will take us through a variety of natural and pastoral landscapes, climaxing with a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside from the top of the Tyringham Cobble, a natural area owned by the Trustees of Reservations.  We will look closely at the flora of the Hop Brook floodplain, a calcareous wetland community with a remarkable variety of grasses, sedges, and wildflowers, including several rare species.  As we hike towards Tyringham Cobble, we will explore successional old fields and mixed hardwoods-hemlock slopes.  Songbirds and butterflies, as well as wildflowers, grace the meadows of this special area.  The hike is about 4 miles long and moderately strenuous.  Wear suitable foot gear (feet may get wet in the floodplain) and bring a lunch.  The walk on Sunday, September 27, will begin at 11 a.m., will be led by Ted Elliman, is limited to 15 participants, and is co-sponsored by The Trustees of Reservations. $40 fee for members of NEWFS and The Trustees of Reservations, $45 for non-members.  To register, log on to www.newfs.org, or call 508-877-7630.

    http://www.newfs.org/visit/picture-gallery/Fall/Fall%20Foliage%20GITW%20S.Ziglar%2010.14.08%20011.jpg/image_preview

  • Sunday, September 13, 10 am – 3 pm – Mastering Asters – Nasami Farm Workshop

    Asters can be among the more difficult species of native plants to identify in the field, for both amateurs and professionals. However, they are an important family of plants to know, for they comprise a substantial proportion of the late summer and fall-blooming herbaceous flora of our region. They’re also beautiful and have an exquisite structure which makes them exciting to study.

    This workshop will focus on identifying 15-20 of the most common species – the ones most likely to be found in the wild most of the time. A field trip to a natural area close to the classroom will follow a two-hour lab.

    Please note that this subject is somewhat technical. An identification key and other handouts will be provided. Bring hand lens, bag lunch, and wear hiking boots for damp conditions.

    Location:
    Nasami Farm
    128 North Street
    Whately , MA 01373

    Sponsor: New England Wild Flower Society
    Time(s): 10 a.m – 3 p.m.
    Cost: $55 (NEWFS Member) / $65 (Nonmember)
    Phone: 508-877-7630, ext. 3303
    Fax: 508-877-3658
    Email: registrar@newenglandwild.org

    http://www.botany.wisc.edu/art/images/outreach/thumbs%20posters/asters.jpg

  • Saturday, September 12, 9:00 a.m. – Grasses Identification Workshop

    Grasses are all around us in great beauty and abundance, yet – lacking bright colors and distinctive shapes – they can be difficult to identify.  This workshop will demystify the identification process by pointing out common species and, most importantly, explaining the key characteristics to look for.  The workshop, at Lockwood Farm Cottage in Hamden, Connecticut, will focus on naked-eye field ID, not detailed flower morphology.  If we see them, we will touch briefly on common sedges and rushes as well.

    Field trips are a long standing tradition of the Connecticut Botanical Society.  They provide an opportunity to learn about plants and habitats from some the area’s most knowledgeable botanists, and an opportunity to share your own knowledge with others.  The trips also add to the bank of knowledge of New England flora.  On each field trip. a list is made of all plant species identified, and this list becomes part of the Society’s records.  This workshop will be led by Lauren Brown, author of Grasses: A Simplified Identification Guide, published by Houghton Mifflin. For field trips, wear sturdy footwear and bring a lunch.  Sunscreen and insect repellant are also recommended.  For plant identification, you may wish to bring a field guide(s), a hand lens, and a small notebook.  Familiarity with plant taxonomy is helpful, but not required.  No pre-registration is required.  Free to CBS members.  Non-members must pay a $15 fee, which includes a one-year membership in CBS, and entitles you to join future trips this season at no additional cost.  For more information and directions, call 203-481-0377, or log on to www.ct-botanical-society.org.

    Grasses: An Identification Guide (Sponsored by the Roger Tory Peterson Institute)

  • Saturday, August 29, 10:00 a.m. – Fern Identification Workshop

    Field trips are a long standing tradition of the Connecticut Botanical Society.  They provide an opportunity to learn about plants and habitats from some the area’s most knowledgeable botanists, and an opportunity to share your own knowledge with others.  The trips also add to the bank of knowledge of New England flora.  On each field trip. a list is made of all plant species identified, and this list becomes part of the Society’s records.  The Connecticut Botanical Society encourages the gardening public to participate in this Fern Identification Workshop at Lockwood Farm Cottage in Hamden , Connecticut, led by Casper Ultee, Past President of CBS.  Although many ferns are readily identified, some are easily confused with similar species.  This workshop will focus on those and others that are less common.  You may bring your own problem specimens (fronds only, no complete plants, please).   This workshop is limited to twelve participants, and pre-registration is required by contacting the leader in advance at 860-633-7557. For field trips, wear sturdy footwear and bring a lunch.  Sunscreen and insect repellant are also recommended.  For plant identification, you may wish to bring a field guide(s), a hand lens, and a small notebook.  Familiarity with plant taxonomy is helpful, but not required.    Free to CBS members.  Non-members must pay a $15 fee, which includes a one-year membership in CBS, and entitles you to join future trips this season at no additional cost.  For more information and directions, call Casper Ultee at the number above, or log on to www.ct-botanical-society.org.