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!
River Life at Taylor Park Summer Adventures
We headed out to Summer Adventure Camp at Taylor Park this morning to teach campers about river wildlife diversity! It was a great way to get our feet wet on a hot day. The group found a total of 8 animals, including tadpoles, snails, bugs, and 20 clams!
Grasse River Rail Road
This trek was on some of the old Grasse River Rail Road bed, south of Massawepie Lake. This crosses the Massawepie mire, an amazing tamarack wetland. At over 3000 acres, this is said to be the largest non coastal wetlands in NY. There is an organization that is trying to open up this entire stretch from Cranberry Lake to Conifer, you can check out what they are doing at http://grasseriverrrtrail.org/ .
Last Evening Paddle!
We had a wonderful evening for our last paddle of the summer. We had a record 11 boats on the water! The river was noticeably higher than two weeks ago, after all the rain at the beginning of the week.
Aquatic Animals at Jacques Cartier
It was a perfect day to get out on the St. Lawrence River and explore aquatic life. We found a snapping turtle, beetles, and hundreds of catfish! It was an exciting way to learn what lives under our water!
Waterfall Tour: Stone Valley
The weather cooperated beautifully for our exploration of Stone Valley's waterfalls -- sunny and not too hot. Very impressive whitewater and geologic formations!
Edible Plant Walk at Chippewa Bay
The sky cleared up after a light sprinkle initiating the start of our edible plant walk. We tasted sorrel, sumac, and wild strawberry, and learned about several more. It was an engaging an interactive way to spend the morning getting to know nature a little bit more!
Emerald Ash Borer Community Training in Canton
Homeowners and concerned citizens joined us for a walk on the Remington Trail to learn how they can hep monitor and slow the spread of emerald ash borer (EAB). EAB was confirmed in St. Lawrence County last August and is already on the way to becoming a public safety concern. Infested trees can die in 1-3 years, and are at risk of falling on homes and powerlines. Together, we learned how to I.D.
Finding Hope for Ash Tree Survival
You look out your window on a mid-summer day: the sun filters through the full, bright green leaves on the big ash tree in your yard, making patterns that dance across your floor. You hear birds sing too; a pair of robins is nesting again in one of the upper branches. It’s a pretty picture, until you learn that emerald ash borer larvae (Agrilus planipennis) are slowly destroying this tree, eating away the layer just under the bark.
New York Great Lakes Ecosystem Education Exchange (NYGLEEE)
New York's Great Lakes Ecosystem Education Exchange (NYGLEEE) is a program administered by New York Sea Grant and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, partnering with educators in New York's Great Lakes watershed to develop an experiential environmental education program focusing on Great Lakes Literacy Principles and stewardship. NYGLEEE aims to:
Tooley Pond Road Waterfall Tour
What a lovely time we had exploring the several waterfalls along Tooley Pond Road. If you haven't been yet, it's a must go! As a group, we visited Banford Falls, Twin Falls, and Rainbow Falls. Along the three trails we learned about the location's history as an iron mining site and scavenged for wild edible plants.