Every so often, we commission an artist for a wildlife illustration for a Northern Woodlands sticker. We hand out these stickers at conferences and to office visitors, make them available in our online shop, and include them with letters of appreciation to supporters of the nonprofit. These projects offer a chance for us to highlight a northeastern artist and to put a spotlight on particular species, all while conveying something about our values as a forest-oriented organization.
Our first two stickers featured charismatic species: the pileated woodpecker (that whinnying, ax-headed icon of the forest and a longtime mascot for Northern Woodlands) and the spotted salamander (a glistening, stampeding star of nighttime amphibian road crossings). Two subtler organisms – the New England American-aster and the wavy-lined emerald moth – appear on this year’s gorgeous design, by Maine illustrator Joy Grannis. The native American-aster is not as flashy as many exotic ornamentals, but is much more ecologically valuable. The nocturnal, well-camouflaged moth might be less familiar to the casual observer than some of our butterflies are, but is just as precious.
These two don’t appear together arbitrarily – wavy-lined emerald moth larvae feed on the flowerheads of New England American-asters – and such a relationship is worth noting. As the inspiring research of entomologist, ecologist, and conservationist Doug Tallamy and others has shown, native plants provide food for up to 35 times more moth and butterfly species than non-natives do. In this issue’s Foraging column on Juneberry, Russ Cohen notes that botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer encourages us to consider such bounty from nature as a gift. One way to express gratitude for the gifts of native plants, Cohen writes, is to plant more of them. Almost a year ago, the Northern Woodlands staff did exactly that, acting on the meticulous plans of Circulation and Ad Sales Coordinator Nancy Farwell to establish a pollinator garden at our headquarters in Lyme, New Hampshire.
Along with New England American-aster and Juneberry, what used to be a front lawn now sports spotted bee balm, button blazingstar, foxglove beardtongue, and dozens of other native plants. We hope these species will attract, feed, and shelter native insects such as the wavy-lined emerald moth. Insects are imperiled worldwide, with major declines in abundance and diversity caused by introduced species, habitat degradation, novel pathogens, pollution, pesticides, and climate change.
As I write this, we face comparable uncertainty around the economy, environmental organizations, responsible forest stewardship, and nonprofits. By the time this issue comes out, Northern Woodlands’ latest appeal letter will also have arrived in mailboxes, asking for renewed support of our mission. We recognize the urgency of so many global and national issues in addition to forest education and the competing needs of other nonprofits, but we hope you respond to these invitations to help grow an already-thriving entity and to contribute in a way that you see fit. Just as we value the ecosystemic relationships between flora and fauna, we value relationships with our partner organizations, advertisers, readers, writers, illustrators and photographers, and financial supporters. Many of you have already shown up in a big way for Northern Woodlands this year. Thank you as always for being part of what we do.