Boston Flora

Tag: Patricia Swain

  • Sunday, September 16, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Rocky Summits, Spruce Forests, and the Habitats in Between

    On Sunday, September 16 from 10 – 2, hike with Patricia Swain and the New England Wild Flower Society through Mt. Watatic Reservation’s open summits, the adjoining spruce and northern hardwoods forests, and several types of transition communities between them. The views of the multiple community types should provide near-peak fall color, great for differentiating species and for our enjoyment. Habitat: northern forests including spruce, fir, northern hardwoods, and rocky summits, known for red spruce forest, spruce and northern hardwood forests, acid rocky summits, open oak forest, ridgetop heathland, blueberries, and huckleberry barrens. Difficulty: Moderate/Difficult. $38 for NEWFS members, $46 for nonmembers. Register at www.newenglandwild.org.

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  • Sunday, May 20, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – Spring Ephemerals in a Rich, Mesic Forest

    Ephemeral spring wildflowers are an integral part of the uncommon rich, mesic forest type. In Massachusetts, abundant spring flowers are found primarily in the western part of the state on lime-rich soils such as those at Day Mountain in Dalton, Massachusetts, where a forest canopy dominated by sugar maples provides habitat to significant species diversity. Patricia Swain will lead a walk through the Day Mountain Wildlife Management Area on Sunday, May 20 from 10 – 3, sponsored by the New England Wild Flower Society. $47 for NEWFS members, $58 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/spring-ephemerals-in-a-rich-mesic-forest

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  • Sunday, October 8, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Pocket Peatlands

    Visit several pocket peatlands in the Groton Town Forest on Sunday, October 8 with ecologist Patricia Swain, the New England Wild Flower Society, and the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions. Many characteristic peatland species are present, but this trip will focus on the natural communities and their differences as well as variations among and within the peatlands, which include a bog, an acidic graminoid fen, and a shrub fen. Be prepared to get wet or wear hip boots or chest waders. The cost is $28 for members of the sponsoring organizations, $35 for nonmembers. Register online at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/pocket-peatlands

  • Saturday, July 29, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Clinton Bluffs Wildlife Management Area

    Situated along the banks of the South Nashua River in Clinton, Massachusetts, Clinton Bluffs Wildlife Management Area has a mix of barrens with dry oak and floodplain deciduous forest communities. Patricia Swain, a natural community ecologist, will explore the distinctive physical features and plants that help define these communities. This field trip is sponsored by New England Wild Flower Society on Saturday, July 29, from 10 – 2. Part of the site discussion will focus on the obvious effects of disturbances such as fire and flood on the local natural communities. The walk difficulty is rated as moderate. $38 for NEWFS members, $46 for nonmembers. Register online at http://www.newfs.org/learn/our-programs/clinton-bluffs-wildlife-management-area

  • Friday, February 6, 6:45 pm – Revising the Classification of Natural Communities in Massachusetts

    The February meeting of the New England Botanical Club will be held Friday, February 6, beginning at 6:45 in the Haller Lecture Hall, Room 102, Geological Museum, 24 Oxford Street in Cambridge.  The speaker will be Dr. Patricia Swain, Natural Community Ecologist, Massachusetts Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program in Westborough, Massachusetts.  Her topic is Revising the Classification of Natural Communities in Massachusetts.  The meeting is open to the public.  For more information visit www.rhodora.org.

  • Thursday, October 30, 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm – Biodiversity and Land Conservation at the Massachusetts Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program

    The overall goal of the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program (NHESP), part of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, is the protection of the state’s wide range of native biological diversity, particularly the vertebrate and invertebrate animals and native plants that are officially listed as rare in Massachusetts. The talk by Patricia Swain, Ph.D., Natural Community Ecologist on Thursday, October 30, at noon, will focus on conservation through identifying, tracking, managing, and regulating rare species and identifying and mapping NHESP priority natural communities. Land use history, climate change, and other influences on native biodiversity will be part of the discussion.

    Patricia Swain’s job as natural community ecologist for NHESP means working state wide with the rarest and most imperiled natural communities in Massachusetts and the best examples of the more common types. Patricia is currently revising The Classification of Natural Communities of Massachusetts that was first produced in 2001; since then they have been adding new types and adjusting the original descriptions so that a clean version (with illustrations and a key) seems like a useful product. Patricia has been the Natural Community Ecologist for MassWildlife’s Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program since 1987. Before that she was a stay at home mom and part time academic, teaching occasional ecology and biology classes at the local university and technical college. She graduated from Tufts with a Biology major, and obtained her MS and PhD degrees in Ecology from the University of Minnesota.

    Lunch & Learn lectures take place every Thursday from 12:00-1:00pm at the Lincoln Filene Center, Rabb Room on the Medford Campus during the academic year. The Tufts Institute of the Environment generously sponsors lunch. If you are interested in participating in the Lunch & Learn program as a guest lecturer/participant, contact environmentalstudies@tufts.edu. You can’t make it to the talk? No problem! Watch it live here from your computer or smart phone.  Photo by Patricia Swain.