Tag: highbush blueberry

  • Wednesday, April 30, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Walden Warming: Climate Change Comes to Thoreau’s Woods

    In his meticulous notes on the natural history of Concord, Massachusetts, Henry David Thoreau records the first open flowers of highbush blueberry on May 11, 1853. If he were to look for the first blueberry flowers in Concord today, mid-May would be too late. In the 160 years since Thoreau’s writings, warming temperatures have pushed blueberry flowering three weeks earlier than in Thoreau’s time. The climate around Thoreau’s beloved Walden Pond is changing, with visible ecological consequences. In his new book, Walden Warming, Richard B. Primack, PhD, Professor of Biology, Boston University,  uses Thoreau and Walden, icons of the conservation movement, to track the effects of a warming climate on Concord’s plants and animals. Under the attentive eyes of Primack, the notes that Thoreau made years ago are transformed from charming observations into scientific data sets. Primack finds that many wildflower species that Thoreau observed have declined in abundance or have disappeared from Concord. Hear how warming temperatures have altered these and other aspects of Thoreau’s Concord, from the dates when ice departs from Walden Pond in late winter, to the arrival of birds in the spring, to the populations of fish, salamanders, and butterflies that live in the woodlands, river meadows, and ponds. The Arnold Arboretum program will take place Wednesday, April 30, from 7 – 8:30 in the Hunnewell Building of the Arboretum.  Free for Arboretum members, $5 for nonmembers.  Register online at www.my.arboretum.harvard.edu.

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  • Saturday, December 7, 10:00 am – 2:30 pm – Shrubs in Winter

    Even without leaves, many shrubs are still recognizable at this time of year. Focus on some macro-characteristics like branching patterns, growth habits, bark, persistent fruit, galls, and habitats to identify more than 20 native New England shrubs in late fall and winter, in this New England Wild Flower Society class at Garden in the Woods in Framingham on Saturday, December 7, from 10 – 2:30 with Roland “Boot” Boutwell, naturalist. We also discuss the natural history of the shrubs we see. The program begins with a classroom session and then moves into the field. Look for such species as witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), and, of course, winterberry (Ilex verticillata) and wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens, pictured below). Bring a bag lunch and a hand lens. Fee $53 for NEWFS members, $64 for nonmembers. Register on line at https://46858.blackbaudhosting.com/46858/fw13-bot3312-Shrubs-in-Winter.

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