What's Your Nature?
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Just Our Nature - news, updates and insights
Garlic Mustard: An Edible Invasive
By Jacob Malcomb on
Blog: Farmed and ForagedWhile any new green growth tends to catch my eye after a long winter, some signs of spring are less welcome than others. Over the past several years I’ve noticed an increasing occurrence of garlic mustard (Alliaria peteolata), an invasive weed native to Europe and North Africa, cropping up around the North Country each spring. True to its name, garlic mustard is in the mustard (Brassicaceae)…
A Shelter for Ten
By Winter Ecology at St. Lawrence University on
This winter Nature Up North is featuring a Winter Ecology Series, in which St. Lawrence University students in Dr. Karl McKnight's Winter Ecology course share their observations from a weekly field trip to Glenmeal State Forest in Pierrepont. We hope you enjoy their accounts from days spent in the woods examining the fascinating ways plants and animals endure the North Country winter.
By…
The Winter Buds
By Winter Ecology at St. Lawrence University on
By Katherine Gilbert
It’s 3:00pm on an overcast Thursday, and nine kids are crammed into a timber-framed playhouse, decked out in ski pants and parkas, up to their ears in a pile of branches, twigs, and buds collected from the trees around Glen Meal State Forest. Heat pulses from a small space heater and rises up to the high-pitched ceiling while the students debate whether or not it is…
Our Neighbors in the Cold
By Winter Ecology at St. Lawrence University on
By Justin Dalaba
Warm gear, check. Snowshoes, check. Lunches, check. Field journals, check. We have all the necessary gear we need to brave the cold for several hours in the woods before making our way back to home base, but what about the animals that thrive in the cold all winter? As college students we take for granted our ability to walk to the dining hall for…
Winter Ecology Week 1: New Sights, New Smells, New Snacks
By Winter Ecology at St. Lawrence University on
This winter Nature Up North is featuring a Winter Ecology Series, in which St. Lawrence University students in Dr. Karl McKnight's Winter Ecology course share their observations from a weekly field trip to Glenmeal State Forest in Pierrepont. We hope you enjoy their accounts from days spent in the woods examining the fascinating ways plants and animals endure the North Country winter.…
A North Country Winter Outdoor To-Do List
By Jacob Malcomb on
It will be news to no one that we’ve have some cold days lately – not your average winter chill, but the bitter, biting cold that makes you cough immediately upon breathing outdoor air. The good news is that warmer weather is on the way and the recent snow has opened up a whole world of outdoor winter recreation opportunities. The North Country’s snowbound forests and icy waterways are truly…
Get Outside!
By Macky Young on
Hey NoCo...
What is your favorite thing to do outside? There are a million and one things to do outdoors in the North Country. We couldn’t think of a million, but here are 15 ways folks at the Canton Farmer’s Market like to spend their time in the great outdoors. So what are you waiting for? Turn off that computer screen and go explore!
A Day in the Life of an Arborist
By Heron on
Feet spread, body tilted back, two hands on the rope, eyes squinting up through the sun. I can barely see, but I can’t turn away and I can’t drop the rope, even though my arms are burning and I can feel the rope about to slip through my friction-burnt gloves. The growl of the chainsaw revs down, the branch swings free and I slowly begin to lower it. I grab the tips of the branch…
Indigo, Madder, and Marigold!
By Cheynne Y. on
It may be hard to fathom, but we didn't always use chemicals to dye fabrics. For thousands of years people used plants, roots and berries to dye cotton, muslin, linen, silk and other fabrics. These days we can pop into a store and buy a rainbow of fabric dye, but it's great fun to dye fabric the old fashioned way! Not only does it give you a new appreciation for Mother Nature,…
10 Best (FREE) Apps for the Outdoor Enthusiast
By Macky Young on
Not everyone agrees that smartphones have a place in the outdoors. For me, the trick is to use smartphone apps in the outdoors that will enhance the experience, not to become the experience. For example, sometimes while hiking I want to know how far it is to the top so I whip out my free altimeter app. But often, I’m really not looking to purchase a $10 smartphone app for an entire…