Events

    This short workshop will provide an overview of vernal pool ecology, including their landscape position, basin characteristics, typical breeding species, and their importance for local and regional biodiversity. The field session will explore this two-year-old pool for evidence of amphibians, fairy shrimp, and other macro-invertebrates that are typically found in such habitats. Get ready for getting your hands wet and your eyes amazed! Rain or shine!         Recommended equipment: Wading boots (optional) Dip nets Hand lens Collecting jars, trays, etc. Camera & notebook Reference books (if you have them)

Calling all plant and mushroom lovers! If you or your family would love to walk in beautiful woods and discover the riches of spring beneath your feet, this walk is for you! Join master naturalist Dr. Rick Van de Poll for a tour of a rich and diverse woodland in the upper Connecticut Valley region. Witness the delicate colors and fragility of rare plants, learn about the bedrock and soils that help create this rich mesic forest, and discover the fascinating world of spring fungi that attends the coming of warm weather. We hope to find squirrel corn, maidenhair fern, blue cohosh, jack-in-the-pulpit and some fungi (morels, false morels, cup fungi, early polypores).

The edible and medicinal value of plants and fungi will be contrasted with the poisonous aspects of certain members of these groups. Although the collecting season for fungi will only be beginning, there will be ample material among the polypores to identify and talk about medicinal aspects in the field. Who knows, we may get lucky and find a morel or two! Please register for the event with Bette Jo Taffe at bjtaffe@gmail.comor 603-786- 2553. Cost is $20 per person. A wild-crafted soup included in the price!

In spite of centuries of ancestral practices to collect wild edibles, the grocery store ends up being our most common “foray site.” This workshop is designed to recall some of the knowledge of bygone days, where sustenance and nutrition relied on familiarity, skill, and careful preparation. We will cover common edible and medicinal plants that grow right in our backyards. Both in-class presentations and fieldwork will provide a taste of what is out there. Be prepared to sample new foods from weeds to tree bark to rock tripe. Registration is through the NHOLC web site above ($165/day).

This first mushrooming field class at NHMC will take place at the headquarters of the NH Mushroom Company in Tamworth, NH (directions, please see http://www.nhmushrooms.com). It will cover the basics of collecting mushrooms, distinguishing edible from poisonous, estimating nutritional value, beginning cultivation and more. We will also go out to foray at a local “hot spot” to find early summer fruiting of some fabulous fungi and return to identify species. The highlight will be owner Eric Milligan’s cookery, which promises to be as delicious as ever! Cost: $50, pre-registration required.

Come explore one of the most beautiful shorelines of Newfound Lake with two very experienced leaders of kayak/canoeing adventures. This is now an annual paddle organized by the Newfound Lake Regional Association (NLRA), who now owns the put-in at the old Marina (Grey Rocks). This +/- one-mile easy paddle will cover the 14 stops of the Water Trail that highlight the ecology of the Cockermouth River delta area. Meet at Grey Rocks along the North Shore Road roughly 1.5 miles from Route 3A (Mayhew Highway). Please register for this free event at https://newfoundlake.org/events/

Peatlands? Fens? Don't get BOGGED down in definitions of our most cherished wetland resource! This program will help you sort out how to identify them, and how to understand why they are so important on the landscape. Join Dr. Rick Van de Poll for an evening slide extravaganza and then a morning field trip to one of the most pristine peatlands in the North Country. Find out why 'Tolland' (Bog) Man was so well preserved after 2500 years, why bogs were so well mapped in NH in the 1940's, and why entire cultures have survived on the heat they produce. The unique flora and fauna associated with peatlands will be introduced during the slide show, and then discovered up close in the field the next day. 2-Days to This Workshop July 25 - Thursday evening slide show will last from 7 - 8:30 pm, and July 26 - Friday morning walk will extend from 9 am to 12 pm. Be prepared for inclement weather as needed, bugs, and possible ticks, although we will be mostly walking on an ADA accessible trail and boardwalk. Length of the walk is about one-half mile out to the bog mat.

This year’s annual northeastern mushroom foray is in Lock Haven, PA, roughly an hour and a half west of Scranton and two hours from the Delaware Water Gap. Ample amounts of Pennsylvania state lands surround the valley of the Susquehanna River and provide excellent foray collecting sites. This fun-filled foray is well-described on the web site, and will be attended by 15 professional mycologists and over 200 mycophiles! [See http://www.nemf.org/ for the registration form & information]