We tend to think of American conservation writing as beginning with Henry David Thoreau in the 1850s or with John Muir a generation or so later, so I was surprised to discover that Noah Webster…

Decayed wood crumbled underfoot as I stepped on a mossy log. The ground was almost hidden by a lush, diverse growth of wildflowers and ferns. Brown scapes of wild leeks poked up above mottled leaflets…

This Week in the Woods, assistant editor Meghan McCarthy McPhaul found two porcupines perched in an apple tree, chowing down on the developing fruit. According to Uldis Roze, in his excellent book,…

The very first meal a monarch butterfly caterpillar eats is its own eggshell. In order to hatch, the caterpillar eats its way out of the egg, and then polishes off the remainder of the eggshell. It…

This special series from Northern Woodlands magazine explores the various connections between forests and water, with a focus on community-based efforts that support watershed health and resilience to…

By the time the hottest days of summer come around, the wild greens of spring have grown too tough to enjoy. When this time comes, I head to my mother’s garden to help her weed – not just…

Deepen Your Connection with the Natural World All Around You Originally published in 2000 with endorsements from E.O. Wilson and Jane Goodall, Clare Walker Leslie’s Keeping a Nature Journal was…

Last summer while working in the garden, I was startled when a fast-flying wasp dropped a plump pumpkin spider on the soil in front of me. The wasp landed, grabbed the spider, and wiggled backwards…

This Week in the Woods, we discovered a daredevil green frog in a patch of clover a good half mile from any pond or stream. Our guess it that it was hunting, and all the humidity and rain allowed it…

Reader Tammis Coffin sent in this mystery macro photo of something she spotted on a rainy day in the woods of Mariaville, Maine, early this month. What is this?

Steve Hagenbuch began working with Audubon Vermont soon after moving to Vermont in 1998, and he’s remained with the organization for 23 years and counting. A conservation biologist and forester,…

To quote the French dramatist Jean Giradoux, “The flower is the poetry of reproduction. It is an example of the eternal seductiveness of life.” Flowering plants fill our summer fields and…

This Week in the Woods, after several days of warmth and wet weather, fungi are popping up everywhere, including American Caesar’s Mushroom. Unlike most Amanita species, American Caesar…

Occasionally I get an email from a camp, school, or even my local Rotary asking if I can present an insect program. So it was not unusual last week for me to be handing insect nets to excited Cub…

This Week in the Woods, we asked Jason Berard, vice president of stewardship at Upper Valley Land Trust, to take photos for this blog. He graciously agreed to help us, and shared more cool plant…

This fledgling bird was found in an old apple orchard covered with grape vines and bordered by forest, about 660 feet above sea level, on June 24th. What species is it?

Linda Gibbs is the community programs director for the Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust and has worked as an environmental educator and natural resources specialist since the 1980s. She grew up near…

Birds featured in many of your June photos. Don Wharton welcomed a visit from a famous white robin and Geoffrey Bluh documented the happy resolution of a perilous woodcock chick crossing, thanks to…

One summer day, I was relaxing on the bank of a secluded pond watching mallard ducks forage when a dark shape broke the stillness of the water. It was a North American river otter, swimming with its…

This Week in the Woods, some young fawns of white-tailed deer are still tucked in their hiding places, although earlier-born ones have started feeding on plants and may be easier to see. As Susan Shea…