Last week, more than 500 Portland Public School kindergarten students celebrated Maple Thanksgiving by visiting the sugar house at Portland Arts and Technology High School (PATHS). This district-wide fieldwork experience is part of Portland Public School’s Wabanaki Studies & Life Science …
News
Will storm damage to dunes affect plover nesting season?
A question we have been getting a lot with the heavy storms pummeling Maine’s coastlines this winter: How will the Piping Plovers manage the upcoming nesting season with the beaches so damaged? What a great question! Finally, fellow plover biologist Laura Williams and I were able to get away from …
Susannah Lerman talk to focus on the potential for yards to increase biodiversity
In a recent groundbreaking study titled "Humanity for Habitat: Residential Yards as an Opportunity for Biodiversity Conservation," Dr. Susannah Lerman and her team of professional ecologists and conservationists have unveiled a paradigm-shifting perspective on urban biodiversity. Published in the …
Here’s how Swida Dogwoods provide nesting habitat for so many birds
Our 2024 Bringing Nature Home Plants of the Year, the Swida dogwoods, are an important group of plants for many reasons, but they are especially significant for a number of songbird species that nest in Maine. Red-osier, Silky, and Gray Dogwoods all form hedges and thickets in wetlands and field …
Maine farms join Bird-Friendly Maple program
For many people in Maine, March means one thing: maple syrup. Throughout the state, sugarmakers are now busy boiling maple sap into syrup. You might not see the connection to wildlife, but those very same forests that make Maine one of the top three maple producing states also support some of the …
Trail tips for mud season
As we enter into March we can see the signs that winter is starting to fade into the rearview mirror. Temperatures are feeling warmer and daylight hours are longer, giving us more reasons to get outside. Spring and the months just before it are pivotal times for many ecosystems and are often a …
Francesca Gundrum named Director of Advocacy at Maine Audubon
Maine Audubon is pleased to announce that Francesca “Ches” Gundrum has been promoted to Director of Advocacy. Gundrum holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College and a Masters in Wildlife Ecology (Human Dimensions of Wildlife Science) from the University of Maine. She started …
Amphibians are on the Move: Prepare for Big Night!
Things are starting to spring, and even sing! We often look to the skies as birds return to Maine in spring, and we start hearing bird songs. But let’s remember to look down as well as up, and listen for other sounds like the calls of Spring Peepers! Maine’s incredible reptiles and amphibians, or …
Announcing the Bringing Nature Home plant genus of the year!
Following on last year’s popular introduction of a Plant of the Year, this year we have expanded our choice to name a Plant Genus of the Year: Swida, or shrubby dogwoods! The botanical name for shrubby dogwoods is Swida, recently changed from Cornus. They are part of the Cornaceae family, which …