Category Archives: Uncategorized

Early Spring Botany: Into the Thicket

As winter brightens into spring and we all suffer through the “spring forward” time change, the trees and shrubs in our landscape are beginning to awaken from their winter dormancy. But until bud burst, you can still get out there … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Winter Botany: Twigs and Buds

During the colder winter months, many of our trees are “closed for the season.” Like island businesses, trees will have an “opening date” sometime in spring when flower buds will pop and leaves will unfurl. Exploring the forest in winter … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Weird Winter Wildlife

This winter, there have been several unusual winter wildlife sightings on Nantucket. Most of these sightings are of creatures that ought to have migrated well south of us by now. A lone Piping Plover was spotted at Smith’s Point during … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Using Wetlands to Improve Nantucket’s Coastal Resiliency

As an island in the Atlantic Ocean, Nantucket intimately understands the impacts of increased flooding frequency and storm events. For our community, adopting ways to increase our Coastal Resiliency is essential to maintaining quality of life, community function and ecological … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

A Little Winter Color

Even in winter, when browns, greys or sage greens of lichens dominate the island color palette, you can still find some vivid evergreens while walking the trails of conservation properties around the island. Several species have red berries to add … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Sending out the Bat Signal

Since the discovery of a population of Northern long-eared bats on Nantucket in 2015, the Foundation’s Science and Stewardship Department has been working hard to understand how these bats use habitat here. Because this species is at a high risk … Continue reading

Posted in bats, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Winter Botany: Marcescent Leaf Mysteries

If you happen to be wandering through Squam Swamp or Squam Farm as autumn gives way to winter, you may notice that while most of the trees have already shed their foliage, oaks (Quercus spp.) and American beech (Fagus grandifolia) … Continue reading

Posted in Botany, Forests, Natural History, Uncategorized, Winter | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

In Bloom Now: American Cow-Parsnip

If you’re out and about on Nantucket this month and see super-sized umbels of white flowers that resemble Queen Anne’s lace but are the size of dinner plates, topping plants with beefy stems and large coarse leaves, it’s likely you … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Meet our Ecological Field Assistants!

Each year, the Nantucket Conservation Foundation’s Science and Stewardship staff hires 2 Seasonal Ecology Field Assistants to help completely all of our many research and management related objectives over the summer and early fall season. Each year we look for … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Tiny insects may save island’s black oaks

Over the last few years, homeowners and land managers have been watching the increasing insect damage to the island’s black oak trees. Last year, the Nantucket Conservation Foundation and the Nantucket Land Council teamed up to fund a student research … Continue reading

Posted in Forests, Habitat Management, Insects, Research by Collaborators, Trees, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment