What's Your Nature?
Become a Nature Up North explorer to share your encounters with wild things and wild places in New York's North Country. Post your wildlife sightings, landscape shots, photos from your outings, and even your organization's events!
Just Our Nature - news, updates and insights
Consider a Gift to Nature Up North
By Erika Barthelmess on
Blog: Just Our NatureDear friends and neighbors,
It's that time of year again; the snow is flying, the geese have (mostly) left. Must be time to consider making a contribution to support Nature Up North! We'd be delighted and appreciative if you made a donation to help environmental education here in the North Country.
Specifically, your gift will help to support activities such as:…
2019 Nature Up North Calendars
By Emlyn Crocker on
Blog: Just Our Nature*Update: As of February 1st, 2019, we only have a handful of calendars left. If you would like one for $5, please email us at info@natureupnorth.org.
We are pleased to announce that 2019 Nature Up North calendars are on sale through early 2019! These printed calendars features some of our favorite photos shared by community members as Encounters on natureupnorth.org in…
Happy Biology
By Paul J. Hetzler on
Blog: Just Our NatureHappiness may be elusive, but it sure has spawned a lot of aphorisms. Folk-wisdom indicates one can be happy as a pig in poop—or in mud, which makes me wonder if those two hogs are equally content, and if they had other options. It also suggests you can be pleased as a pig in a peach orchard, which would make sense unless harvest season was over. Additionally, one might feel happy as a pup with…
Run, Dorothy—Emerald City is Falling
By Paul J. Hetzler on
Blog: Just Our NatureWatertown is poised to become an Emerald City, but that’s not good news. Jefferson and Lewis will soon be Emerald Counties, and St. Lawrence County began the process of change two years ago. Unfortunately, this kind of transformation does not involve happy endings.
When the emerald ash borer (EAB) kills an ash, something happens never before seen—the tree becomes brittle and hazardous very…
Ask A Fairy: Fall 2018 Answers
By Thimble & Blossom on
Blog: Ask a Fairy
Thanks for visiting the fairies this fall and leaving your notes inside! You had some really great questions, and Thimble and Blossom had so much fun answering them. They are already down in the tropics where they'll be spending the winter, but are excited to come back next spring!
Keep reading below to find your question among the others, and let us know if you have…
Ask a Fairy: Our Fairy Friends are Back!
By Thimble & Blossom on
Blog: Ask a FairyWe eagerly await the fall season, because with it comes apples season, vibrant fall colors, and of course - visiting fairies! Our woodland fairy friends will be visiting the North Country on their migration south for the winter from October 12th - 28th. You're invited to find their homes and leave notes with your nature questions inside. Please also leave your first name and age,…
Plant a Tree, or Rent It?
By Paul J. Hetzler on
Blog: Just Our NaturePlanting a tree isn’t rocket science, which is good thing. If it were that complex, I’d wager we’d have a lot fewer trees lining our streets. It may not take a scientist to plant a tree correctly, but a lot of money is spent each year to buy and plant trees which may as well be leased, because they will only live a fraction of their expected lifespan.
When trees decline and die after 15, 20, or…
The First Shall Not Last
By Paul J. Hetzler on
Blog: Just Our NatureSeems like competitiveness may be part of human DNA, but it does not always pay to be first.
No prize awaits the fastest car that passes a radar patrol, or the first person to come down with the flu at the office. And for trees, the first ones to turn color in autumn are not envied by their peers. If trees experience envy, which no one knows. The first trees to show orange and red and drop their…
Hottest summer on record for the North Country
By Alexander K. Stewart on
Blog: Just Our NatureAre you younger than 96 years old? Did you spend your summer here in the North Country? If you answered yes to both, then you just experienced the hottest summer on record (1922-present)! Yes, the summer of 2018 was a hot one.
Now, this might depend on how you define hot; is it the maximum temperature reached? Probably not. Instead, the best metric of “hotness…
Become a citizen journalist!
By Erika Barthelmess on
Blog: Just Our NatureNature Up North is proud to be working with the Weave News, North Country Public Radio, and The Hill News to sponsor the first annual St. Lawrence Citizen Journalism Incubator (SLCJI).
The St. Lawrence Citizen Journalism Incubator is a new initiative designed to provide North Country students and residents with the opportunity to receive training and support for conducting independent,…