A Sense of Place

 I run a monthly nature experience at Blackstone Park Conservancy where I'll have an information table and art activity that extends into a way to explore the park.  We've explored insects, spiders, broadleaf trees, and winter birds, among others. It's an outdoor program, so weather is always a concern. So it was no surprise when rain forced us to reschedule the January event two weeks later. Of course, two weeks later, it was 17 degrees.

Our theme that month was cones and conifers. I was well-prepared with samples of cones from many types of evergreen, from Douglas fir to white pine. There were clip boards with infographics I had put together making it easy to type different conifer families. I even had information on the Wollemi pine, or "dinosaur tree", that had been saved from the Australian fires.  But it was 17 degrees. And no one came.

The only other person out there was Harold. He comes regularly to tend to the ducks.  There's a raft of about 40 mallards that flock to him when his car pulls up. These ducks know Harold. And Harold knows them. Not only does he feed them, but he knows many of their back-stories. Some he's released from fishing line. He's seen two hit by a car and was only able to save one. He knows how another got its scars.  Blackstone Park is a very popular place for bird watchers, and Harold can identify many of the waterbirds that visit. He's more than just a visitor, though.  He is a steward.

The following month I did not advertise well as it was February and I expected more inclement weather or cold. But I was there as faithfully as ever, setting up my table with a table cloth and new clipboards. No more taping pictures down!  Remarkably, it was in the mid-forties that day. And people started to come...

People of all ages showed up! First, an older couple waiting for their grand-kids. Then families, other couples, a single woman. I invited them to explore the moss and lichen I had collected. We discussed symbiotic relationships, climate change, biomimicry...  How moss can insulate buildings and and certain lichens are used in medicines, dyes, and other industries.  Kids ran off with magnifying lenses to find their own. We looked at samples under a microscope and learned about the radical survival skills of tardigrades, also known as water bears or moss piglets.  

Twenty two visitors in all took time in their day to learn about nature and how we can work WITH it, be part of the interconnected web.  Do you have a lot of lichen on your trees?  Maybe even the shrubby kind?  The more the merrier! Many are sensitive to pollution, so if you see a lot, that indicates cleaner air. 

And it's not hurting your tree. Lichen is just a relationship between a fungus and algae and cyanobacteria.  They work together to make a home and food.  Similarly, we wouldn't be able to live without the help of mitochondria in our cells. Perhaps by studying nature, we'll find more ways to work together.

Join us March 7th 10-11:30 when we learn all about frogs and toads!  You can download our lichen activity here.

Tales of the Tiny: Pulaski Park

RI Families in Nature guide Jeanine Silversmith took a group of about 30 down a trail going around a freshwater pond full of water lilies and through the mossy woods to examine beaver dams and lodges.  What was most surprising were all the tiny things we found...

Pulaski State Park is in Chepachet off Route 44, nearby to several campgrounds and hosting their own.  After a brief introduction, the group set off along the beach, small children in hand and older ones making instant friends with others.  We soon had our itinerary lined with lily pads and white flowers floating at the edge of Peck Pond and my daughter was quick to spot a Bullfrog.  

An oak gall formed from a wasp egg landed perfectly on a pad.

 

Look fast!  Bullfrog lurking!

Catching, examining, then releasing with the net.

I expected some frogs and toads, especially with the recent rain, but I wasn't prepared for what happened next.  One little boy had proudly declared his skill in locating frogs, and he did not disappoint.  

Snail friend.

American toad.

The toad is in here, I swear!

Another toad.

Still another toad...

A katydid (cousin to grasshopper, cricket, and mantis).

Another snail!

And this...this TINY frog! 

 I'm pretty sure it's a frog because I did not see any of the glands behind the eyes or bumps or warts toads have.   It was spotted with banded legs.  Could it be a newly transformed leopard frog or a Eleutherodactylus (Syrrhophus) marnockii?  Did we find a rare or new species???!!  Can anyone comment below?

Of course, it was hard to miss the beaver lodges and dams and we were able to examine beaver activity on several trees, although the beavers themselves (mostly nocturnal) were not in sight.  

Notice the tapered chisel before the trunk snapped.

Beaver lodge.  Residents enter from underwater, but inside is dry and has air.

More beaver evidence.

The beavers weren't the only ones who likes this spot!  We saw FOUR garter snakes and I saw one slither into a tiny hole in the earth.

What (bigger) animal lives in here, I do not know.

 

Sometimes it was enough just to enjoy the textures of leaf litter, moss, and lichen, find an interesting tree.  How many moss types were there?  How long would it take these baby pine to grow as tall as their parents?  When trees fell, how long until the mushrooms, insects, and bacteria returned them to the earth?  What made two trees grow together?  What story does the shed birch bark tell? 

 

A tiny setting for Middle Earth?

Faery tool?

A forest of pine and oak, the only birch fallen.  Birch borers?

Perhaps a parachute or a ship for a tiny creature?

Two trees, grown together.

A tree growing over a slab of stone.  Excalibur?

Decomposition is often invisible.  One mushroom has many threads.

Across the lush forest of moss...

Tiny mushrooms emerge. 

Westeros, perhaps?

Another toad.

A tree torn down by ___________.

What must live in this tower of roots?

A mosaic of roots, rocks, and forbs.

 

An accident, a clue?

A turtle-rock :)

And then there were the tiny treasures: A mushroom tower, flowering bearberry, single fungal cap rising above the damp, leafy ground.   It was a mile and a half, a lot of pausing to look at the ground, before we made our slow journey back.  Swimming in the pond, I thought of all the tiny things, stretched out my arms and legs, and looked past the ring of trees into the eternal sky.