05/26/11 by admin | Stewardship News, UVLT Events | No Comments »
WHEN: Wednesday June 1, 2011 – 4:00 pm until around 6 or so (please come for any or all of that time!)
WHERE: UVLT offices at 19 Buck Road, Hanover NH (whenever you can make it, you should easily find us out back behind the building or down the bank to the west of the parking area)
WHY: Garlic mustard is tenacious invasive plant found in relatively isolated spots in our area, but it’s ability to spread rapidly and disrupt native forest plant communities has raised increasing concern, and the infestation at Buck Road is one of the most established in Hanover, located right near the edge of the Mink Brook Natural Area. Garlic mustard efficiently displaces other native species, kills beneficial fungi in the soil that trees rely on for effective growth, and is distasteful to native herbivores, so it has significant potential to quickly alter the natural communities in our area – active management now can make a big difference!
PART 2:
Volunteers who came out to help pull garlic mustard this past Monday made dramatic headway and removed a huge number of plants from the invaded area between Buck Road and Mink Brook – thank you to those who came to help out! The effort was really valuable, and the area looks so much better – Plus it was quite fun working together, so much so, that we are inviting you to join us again as we take a crack at the remaining large patch just west of where we worked earlier this week. Come help with this effort and you will quickly learn how to ID the plant which can help you find it in other places (this is one of the best ways to help prevent small start-up colonies from ever getting established)!
WHO: YOU! And as many recruits as you can find to join UVLT staff for this Pulling Party Part 2! Let’s make the rest of the area look as good as the spots that were cleaned up a few days ago!
A few other details: This plant is pretty straightforward to hand-pull, so you can bring gloves if you’d like, but it isn’t really necessary if you don’t mind getting a bit dirty (who minds getting dirty?). Wear clothes appropriate for working outside – and probably wise to consider bug spray and/or long sleeves/pants. There is easy access to water and bathroom facilities inside UVLT’s office, and again we will have refreshments for all our volunteers!
We look forward to seeing you Wednesday!
05/24/11 by admin | Stewardship News | 1 Comment »
UVLT would like to thank the enthusiastic volunteers that helped to make Monday’s garlic mustard pulling successful. 9 people joined UVLT staff to pull garlic mustard on 5/23: Robbie, Sam, Put, Ellen, Jon, Laura, Mike, Kara and Charlotte. Thanks to those who came out! If you weren’t able to make it this time, don’t worry! We saved a patch for you. We’ll post information about the next Garlic Mustard Pulling Party when it becomes available.
UVLT staff & volunteers with bags full of the pesky invasive plant, garlic mustard.
05/19/11 by admin | Stewardship News, UVLT Events | 3 Comments »
WHEN: Monday May 23, 2011 – 4:00 pm until around 6 or so (please come for any or all of that time!)
WHERE: UVLT offices at 19 Buck Road, Hanover – forces will depart from here and intersect the enemy encroaching into the Mink Brook preserve…
WHY: Garlic mustard is a terrible invader of roadsides and forest floors, and the infestation at Buck Road is one of the most entrenched in Hanover. Garlic mustard displaces all other native species, kills beneficial fungi in the soil that trees rely on for effective growth, is distasteful to native herbivores, so it takes over quickly and completely if not controlled! Come help with this effort and you will quickly learn how to ID the plant and find it in other places (this is one of the best ways to stay on top of the threat and prevent small start-up colonies from ever getting established)! This particular invasive plant is still in fairly isolated spots in our area, so active management can and will make a difference.
THE ENEMY!
YOU! And as many recruits as you can find to join UVLT staff for an all-out war (for an afternoon, outdoors in the sun, which will even be fun)! We would love to hit this population of garlic mustard hard so that its control is more manageable down the road (on-going efforts will have to be made to future sprouts from setting seed, but NOW is the time to take out a lot of it!)
UVLT's Sara Cavin getting ready to devour THE ENEMY!
A few other details: Wear clothes appropriate for working outside – bring water bottles especially if it is warm (we hope!). This plant is pretty straightforward to hand-pull, so you can bring gloves if you’d like, but it isn’t really necessary if you don’t mind getting a bit dirty (who minds getting dirty?).
Added Bonus: Everyone who shows up to help out will be entered into a PRIZE drawing to be held at the party’s conclusion!
05/18/11 by admin | UVLT Events | 1 Comment »
I’d driven from Thetford to Meriden in case anyone wanted to go on the hike I was to lead last Sunday. My wife, Ann and I waited at the French’s Ledges Trail (Northern) on Colby Road for a few minutes after one. No one came.
We started up the trail in a light pitter-pat of rain. Like everyone else, we like sunny days but a little rain doesn’t deter us. There are some advantages on rainy days; we got to test our rain gear and it worked well, we saw no one else, it was pleasantly cool for hiking, and we focused on close up views and were rewarded.
We saw at least 18 varieties of wild flowers that we could identify – some past peak, others just right and some yet to come. To name a few, we saw red and painted trilliums, marsh marigolds, toothwort, foamflower, sharp lobed hepatica, trout lilies, Indian cucumber root, wild oats, false Solomon’s seal, rose twisted stalk, and star flowers as well as more common bluets, violets, wild sarsaparilla, wild lily-of-the-valley, partridge berry and strawberries. I’m sure we missed some if only because we were trying to avoid stepping on red spotted newts that were out in force.
The view from the top was of quiet country visible between low lying clouds and softened by the slightly obscuring rain – a scene for an artist. The hike turned out to be a bright spot on a rainy, cloudy day and we knew that as a bonus the exercise was good for our minds, bodies and dispositions. Not bad for a rainy day. Try it; you might like it. I hope to see you on our hike in June.
Roger Hanlon, UVLT Trustee and Sunday Stroll Leader
05/16/11 by admin | Stewardship News | No Comments »
Student volunteers from the Oliverian School in Pike, NH helped the UVLT manage invasive species and monitor their properties during the week of 5/9/11. The opportunity was gained through Oliverian’s “Electives Week” program where the students take a break from regular classes to explore new interests. These students earned academic credit under the school’s stewardship requirement and very much enjoyed the full week’s worth of sunny weather and working outside.
From left: John Gillies, WIlliam Cochran, Ellie Bosies, Robbie Menegay, Jesse Cabrera
05/02/11 by admin | Stewardship News | No Comments »
We had a full house for our Volunteer Monitor Training on Saturday, April 30th. Twelve eager volunteers learned about UVLT’s mission and stewardship in particular. With 40,000 acres protected by UVLT across the Upper Valley and an obligation to monitor each easement yearly, we count on our dedicated volunteers to ensure we meet that commitment. The day was split about evenly between indoor and outdoor time.
Here, Pete Helm (UVLT’s Vice President Stewardship) is describing the way we use map and compass to navigate around each protected property.
The second half of the day was spent putting those newly acquired skills to use in the field.
Here, a volunteer is sighting a bearing, and telling the others whether they are on the line or not.
It was a beautiful day, and the spring wildflowers were in bloom!
I want to thank all the volunteers for taking the time to come and see what we do. I look forward to working with them all in the future! We couldn’t do it without our great volunteers!
If you are interested in learning more about becoming a volunteer easement monitor, please contact Jason Berard at Jason.berard@uvlt.org or (603) 643-6626.
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