Do you know the common name for this plant? Where does it grow? Does it have any significance for conservation? Why or why not? When might you find it blooming? What insect relies on this plant to sustain its entire life cycle? Stop back Monday, June 1st, for the answers!
Ten years ago I had my Evergreen Garden Club students participate in a large Citizen Science Project. It was co-hosted by Monarch Watch and NASA (yes, that NASA). Monarch larvae were sent into space via the space shuttle to arrive at the International Space Station. At the same time, project participants, including those in my…
Yesterday was my last day of work at a job I’ve only had a little more than 8 months. It was a job I wanted, a job I was given the opportunity to have, and a job in what I was educated to do – be an environmental educator. But, alas, the job was not…
It’s been a little over two weeks since I made my last monarch update. We are just starting the time of year when the super generation is being born! This is the generation of Monarchs that will migrate to Mexico, overwinter, and start to make the return trip Northward next spring. Having been on vacation…
Today, I provide another monarch update for you. My current counts are as follows: Releases: 5 – 3 female, 1 male, 1 unknown sex Chrysalises: 2 Larva – 5th instar -1, 4th instar – 1, 2nd-3rd instar – 6 Eggs – 3 Deaths: 4 (all failed to pupate). This year I have decided to share…
What’s going on with monarchs in my yard right now? Summer is speeding by at its usual quick pace. Far behind my monarch raising efforts of last year, I am truly enjoying this slower place and the special moments to be savored in the care and process this special species. This is still a special…
School gardens are in my blood. I’ve been continually involved in planning, planting, and caring for school gardens since 2004! Fifteen years! Wow, that is a long time! And, more remarkably, that span of time only involves two gardens! My first school garden involvement was at the elementary school where my boys attended their first…
While having my tea on this glorious Saturday morning and checking my emails, I realized that I have a slight problem with tenacity. Or, rather, my problem might be the opposite – one of letting go instead of firmly hanging on. Earlier this year, I resigned from the garden club advisor position I hold at…
I spy a Short Eared Owl nestled in the Grasslands, three Great Blue Herons hiding in the cold Marsh, six Bald Eagles sitting on the ice as the sun soon melts, a single hawk hovering over a dry creek bed, seeking a tiny moving morsel for its morning meal. For these are the Birds of…
The following post is a reprint of a paper I wrote five years ago this spring, during my very first course for graduate studies in the field of Environmental Education. Much has changed since then, namely the cessation of Evergreen Garden Club, a group to which I refer in this post. However, I find myself…