Help shape a transformative, whole-of-government approach to biodiversity conservation in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Department of Fish & Game will share a brief update on their progress and turn it over to you to hear your thoughts, ideas, and priorities. Free. Register at https://mass.gov/biodiversity Two sessions, afternoon and evening, for you to choose from. Links will be sent to registrants.
This Berkshire Botanical Garden illustrated talk on Friday, August 26 at 11 am will include methods of identifying frogs and turtles, details about their distinctive biology, and interesting facts about their behaviors and the methods these elusive creatures use to protect themselves and reproduce.
Professor Tom Tyning, Professor of Environmental Science at Berkshire Community College, will encourage families to get to know these shy and retiring animals and will have frogs on hand to greet visitors. Free for BBG members and children under 12, BBG admission fee required for nonmembers. For more information visit www.berkshirebotanical.org. Image of green frog from www.deerfieldriver.org.
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Aquatic Ecologist, Peter Hazelton, will speak on Frogs, Mussels, Crayfish and Other Critters: Biodiversity of Lakes and Ponds in Massachusetts, at a meeting of the Massachusetts Congress of Lake and Pond Associations (COLAP) from 1:45-2:45 pm on Saturday, January 25. The COLAP meeting will take place at Worcester State University and is open to the public. MASS COLAP is a non-profit organization. Its membership consists of private lake and pond associations, publicly appointed lake committees, students and professional organizations. For more information contact Carol Hildreth at hildrethcr4@gmail.com.
We’ve come upon an interesting blog we thought would interest our followers. Burger’s Onion, http://burgersonion.blogspot.com/, deals with weird botany and horticulture. Posts with fabulous pictures range from a description of the minute Anacampseros hillii to pictures of flowering Hondelbal (“dog ball” in Afrikaans – just guess what this plant looks like) to gymnosperms of the Namib Desert to Organic Pest Control, the Mad Botany Way (using carnivorous plants to mop up fruit flies in the greenhouse.) The site also has good links to plant organizations, on-line communities and specialist nurseries (you can order poison dart frogs from Black Jungle, www.blackjungle.com). Always good to have a sense of humor.
US Art magazine says Sarah Lynn Richards is “An Artist we think you should know better.” Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Massachusetts agrees. Richards’ wonderful hummingbirds, frogs and horses are whimsical and moving. Her watercolor florals compliment the gardens in full bloom. Richards is regarded as the most prominent equine artist in the country. Her use of watercolor illustrates her sense of balance, form, and an intuitive understanding of the nature of things. A nationally exhibited artist, Sarah Lynn Richards currently works in her home studio on the coast of Maine. Her watercolors are vivid interpretations of horses and wildlife. You can learn more about Richards’ work at her website, www.sarahrichards.com. The reception will feature a cash bar and light refreshments. Free and open to the public. The exhibit will run from June 16 through July 26, 2009. For more information, call 508-869-6111 or log on to www.towerhillbg.org.
