Sand Barrens Bioblitz on Sat June 8, NSNT evening Tues June 18, 2019

Posted on June 4, 2019 by admin

A couple of upcoming events that will be of interest to NSWFS folks:

Sand Barrens Bioblitz

From Ian Manning:

Just a note to let you know that next Saturday, June 8th, Blomidon Naturalists Society is hosting a mini-bio-blitz in Meadowvale, a super example of a Sand Barren Heathland, a rare and very beautiful ecosystem located in the Annapolis Valley. This habitat is home to a host of fascinating lichens, plants, insects, and more, with many more exciting finds yet to be discovered.

There’s not a lot of Sand Barren Heathland of this quality that’s publicly accessible, so luckily we have the permission of the Deveau family to hold the blitz on their land. A map will be provided to participants, marking the boundary of where we’ll be exploring, note we’re going to stay away from the buildings on the property.
Continue reading →

Posted in conservation, events | Leave a comment

NWWFS Monthly meeting and Field Trip: Today (Mon May 27, 2019) meet at Fleming Park

Posted on May 27, 2019 by admin

NWWFS Monthly meeting and Field Trip: Today meet at Fleming Park ( The Dingle parking Lot) near the Tower. 6:30 pm. Wear Rain Gear. Showers are likely but there may be a short dry window. This is an easy walk with the focus on One Shrub in particuar : Hobblebush which is at or near it’s peak bloom at present. There is quite a display along the Dingle road every year about this time, especially where the stream from the Frog Pond crosses the road. We will go Rain or Shine. Leader C. Cron.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

ST. MARGARET’S BAY BOTANY SATURDAY , June 8th

Posted on May 9, 2019 by Bob Kennedy

This is a field trip being held by the Halifax Field Naturalists

Join the NS Wild Flora Society’s President Charles Cron to explore the botany along a hiking trail in the St. Margaret’s Bay Area.

We’ll begin with a first fen at an old saw mill site described as a true fen surrounded by old spruce woods. The second fen has intact mature spruce woods and a recent clear-cut. Trilliums and Stemless Lady’s Slippers will be in bloom at this time. Rubber boots will be necessary!

Rain Date: Sunday June 9nd

Contact: Carol Klar, cklar@bellaliant.net, 443-3385

Time/place: 10:00 a.m. in the parking lot of Tim Horton’s near the Sobey’s gas bar, at Exit 5 off Hwy 103.

Duration: 2 hours

Difficulty: Easy to moderate

Posted in local talks, walks | Leave a comment

Monday May 27 2019: Regular meeting night Outdoors: Hobblebush in Dingle Park (aka Fleming Park)

Posted on May 8, 2019 by Bob Kennedy

Meet 6;30pm in the Parking lot at the Dingle Tower. If Hobblebush have past peak may travel to an alternate site nearby. Easy walking. Short distance. Charlie will watch area and if peak bloom is early will post to website so all may have a chance to see an impressive display of this under story plant.

Photos Charles Cron

Posted in events, walks | Leave a comment

Announcing Eagle Hill Institute’s seminars on vascular plants

Posted on May 7, 2019 by Bob Kennedy

Eagle Hill is right on the coast of Eastern Maine, between Acadia National Park and Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge.

Jun 16 – 22 … Medicinal Plants: Historical and Contemporary Uses … Steven Foster

Jun 16 – 22 … Sedges and Rushes: Identification and Ecology … Anton Reznicek

Jul 7 – 13 … Grasses: Identification and Ecology … Dennis Magee

Jul 14 – 20 … Wetland Identification, Delineation and Ecology … Matthew Schweisberg and Joseph Homer

Jul 21 – 27 … Ericaceae and Heathland Communities of Coastal Maine … Paul Manos

Aug 4 – 10 … Submersed and Floating Aquatic Plants … C Barre Hellquist and Eric Hellquist

Aug 18 – 24 … Ferns and Lycophytes: Identification, Biology, and Natural History … Robbin Moran and Carl Taylor

Sep 6 – 8 … Asteraceae: Fall Botanizing and Botanical Surveys … Jill Weber

Nov 8 – 10 … Twig Identification of Trees and Shrubs: Fall Botanizing and Botanical Surveys

The following general flyer has links to individual vascular plants seminar flyers.

https://madmimi.com/s/d1856e

For general information and a complete calendar … https://www.eaglehill.us/programs/nhs/nhs-calendar.shtml

office@eaglehill.us … 207-546-2821, ext. 4.

Posted in local talks | Leave a comment

Native Plant Sale – Acadia U. Wolfville, May 4, 2019 (9:00 am – 12:00 pm)

Posted on April 30, 2019 by Bob Kennedy

Location: KC Irving Centre and Harriet Irving Botanical Gardens – 32 University Ave., Wolfville

Help support biodiversity by growing native plants in your garden.

A variety of native perennials grown by volunteers from seed collected at the Harriet Irving Botanical Gardens will be available. We have a wide selection of new species this year and all of our plants will be hardened off and ready to go in your garden!

Nurseries in attendance will include Baldwin’s Nurseries, Fernwood Plant Nursery, and Beneath the Boughs Woodland Plant Nursery and Pottery. Learn more about ecological landscaping by stopping by the Helping Nature Heal Inc. booth, and put your name into a draw to win a backyard composter from Valley Waste-Resource Management.

Growing native plants is a small way to contribute to the restoration of our landscape, to provide food and shelter for native fauna, and to make a small contribution to the earth’s seed bank for future generations. It also helps you to identify them in the wild – as you get to see them growing through all phases of their life cycle. And they are usually maintenance free, provided you match the right plant to your unique micro-environment.

In the Conservatory and Walled Garden at the Harriet Irving Botanical Gardens. Free parking, free admission.

 

Posted in events | Leave a comment

NS WIld Flora Society Meeting Monday, Apr. 22, 2019 7:30PM

Posted on April 18, 2019 by Bob Kennedy

Our speaker, Sean Blaney, will focus on recent fieldwork and new discoveries in Nova Scotia, especially in the Cape Breton Highlands in the highest elevation region of the National Park between Cheticamp and Clyburne Brook.

Sean is the Executive Director and Scientist for the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre in Sackville New Brunswick.

Posted in Featured Talks | Leave a comment

See Skunk Cabbage on Long Island Apr 14

Posted on April 11, 2019 by Bob Kennedy

The flowers should be more open than these photos from March 2017

Travel to  Digby  then convoy to Long Island > Balancing Rock parking lot. Leave Halifax  06:00 hrs.  Meet at Tim Hortons  Digby at exit 26, Near the Irving CircleK,at 10:00 hrs.  Then drive  in convoy to East Ferry ,ferry across to Tiverton, then to Balancing Rock Parking lot. We will search the trail from the Parking Lot to Balancing Rock and return. There are other areas to search along the way around Tiddville in particular. 3-4 hr drive both directions from Halifax. Bring  lunch,water, rubber boots,and camera gear. Ground may be soft and wet. Please register with Charles Cron  902 477 8272 or email ccron72@hotmail.com by Friday Apr 12. Trip is weather dependent and final decision will be made by  9:00 pm  Friday evening.I will call participants or email Friday night if cancelled.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Nature Trust’s Historic Land Campaign include two new properties, donations now matched 4:1 until April 5, 2019

Posted on March 30, 2019 by admin
From Nova Scotia Nature Trust: “Our Lasting Landscapes campaign was already on track for historic land conservation achievements. Now, an unexpected $400,000 top-up in matching funds means even greater biodiversity wins can be leveraged for Nova Scotia. We just added 2 more potential conservation sites to the 15 already being protected across the province. But to seize this new opportunity, we need to raise another $100,000, and secure both new conservation sites, by April 5, 2019.

“…Bolstered by the outpouring of support to date, we’ve seized this opportunity and signed offers to acquire the two additional properties: one in the Mabou Highlands and another in a popular near-urban wildland just minutes outside of Halifax.

“…All donations will be matched 4 to 1, but only until the April 5 deadline. Please help us save even more land through our Lasting Landscapes Campaign – now up to 17 sites – by donating today!”

Posted in conservation | Leave a comment

LICHEN HIKE & WORKSHOP for 2019 CITY NATURE CHALLENGE – HALIFAX

Posted on March 28, 2019 by Bob Kennedy

PART I: Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes Wilderness hike & collecting
● WHEN: April 26, 2019, 5:00 – 7:00 pm
● WHERE: Meet at parking area at the end of Saskatoon Drive, near Maskwa
Aquatic Club
● WHO: Dr. Sean Haughian, Nova Scotia Museum
● WHAT: Guided lichen walk with Dr. Haughian, including primer on how to
photograph for iNaturalist and when / how to collect.
PART II: Lichen identification workshop and training
● WHEN: April 29, 2019 7:00 – 9:00 pm
● WHERE: Meet at NS Museum of Natural History
● WHO: Dr. Sean Haughian, NS Natural History Museum
● WHAT: Using microscopes and other technology, identify lichens collected
during the Bio-Blitz to species (or as close as possible)

Photos (L=>R): Blue Felt Lichen (Pectenia plumbea), Black Stone Flower (Parmotrema perlatum) – Photos by Jeff White; Tree Lungwort (Lobaria pulmonaria), Yellow Specklebelly (Pseudocyphellaria hawaiiensis), Trumpet Lichen (Cladonia fimbriata) – Photos by Bob Kennedy
Posted in events | Leave a comment