A Gathering of Winter Flocks
This winter I’ve noticed a variety of winter bird species gathering in flocks at my feeder. Each year I expect to see several dark eyed juncos scouring the grass under our feeder. This year they arrived in late fall, right on time from nesting grounds…
Get Ready to Spring Outdoors
Spring Outdoors is returning for 2021 from March 20 to June 20. While it will be different, we do know that if we ensure participation size allows for physical distancing and masks are worn, we can enjoy the outdoors. Leaders, it’s time to submit your…
Keeping The Last Green Valley Clean and Green!
Show your love for The Last Green Valley by organizing an Earth Month or River Cleanup. Gather your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers, and make a difference in your community. Over the last nine years, 11,489 volunteers have collected 442,139 pounds of trash from our…
Celebrate Black History Month with a Visit to the Norwich Freedom Trail:
“The next day, Friday morning, Brother Simpson took me down to the steamboat and started me for New York, giving me a letter directed to David Ruggles, of New York.” From the Autobiography of James L. Smith, published in 1881 and reprinted by the Society…
Finding Beauty in February
And then the owl called, and I wondered why that sound had ever inspired fear or horror. It was bird song and I thanked God for it, in the night and the silence and the cold winter’s nadir. Bird song in February darkness! A voice,…
A Winter Hike in The Last Green Valley
Every season of the year brings an opportunity for an enjoyable day outdoors, whether it is spent exploring forest or field, river or lake. Months and weeks turn purposefully through the lifecycle of our natural world. Our encounters and experiences change within that annual cycle…
On the Letterboxing Trail in The Last Green Valley
For folks looking to get outdoors with family, friends, or just a solo hike in nature, let me suggest a letterboxing activity as a fun way to explore. If you have youngsters and would like to spark their interest in nature, then the enticement of…
Eagle Month in The Last Green Valley: The Midwinter Eagle Survey
Every January for the past 11 years I’ve visited the Quinebaug Valley Trout Hatchery to look for eagles. Last Saturday I returned again, this time with seven other eagle searchers. We were there to take part in the annual Midwinter Eagle Survey organized by the…
February Winter Adventures for the Entire Family
Join us to explore The Last Green Valley’s wide-open spaces this winter! Shetucket Ramble, 10 am, Feb. 13, Franklin, CT. Join us on a winter walk along the Shetucket River in the southwestern corner of The Last Green Valley. We’ll walk along the old Norwich-Windham…