Follow the Trail with Bill Reid,
The Last Green Valley's Chief Ranger
Exploring The Last Green Valley: Curious springtails are the snow fleas of winter
Exploring The Last Green Valley: Curious springtails are the snow fleas of winter I was about 10 years old the first time I discovered snow fleas, or what are really called springtails. The large pile of wet snow underneath the old oak tree in our…
Exploring The Last Green Valley: Reading the forested landscape
Exploring The Last Green Valley: Reading the forested landscape The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor is more than 1,000 square miles with 707,000 acres of land. Our region is 77 percent undeveloped land with 67.1 percent forested land including 12.3 percent coniferous forest (pine…
Exploring the Last Green Valley: Optical Heritage Museum keeps history of American Optical alive
Exploring the Last Green Valley: Optical Heritage Museum keeps history of American Optical alive The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor was and is home to many innovative and important companies. Beginning in the 19th century, with advances in waterpower technology and the birth of…
Exploring The Last Green Valley: ‘Wandering Through Winter’ with Teale
Exploring The Last Green Valley: ‘Wandering Through Winter’ with Teale Winter seems like the perfect time to re-tell the story of one of The Last Green Valley’s most gifted writers. If you enjoy natural history, travel, the fascinating turn of the seasons and the lyrical…
Exploring The Last Green Valley: Wood duck conservation at work in Sprague, Connecticut
Exploring The Last Green Valley: Wood duck conservation at work in Sprague, Connecticut From time to time, readers of this column will send me emails remarking about a recent column or providing me with information about our region’s natural and cultural resources. One reader that…
Exploring The Last Green Valley: How to catch a snowflake
Silently, like thoughts that come and go, the snowflakes fall, each one a gem.” – William Hamilton Gibson Wintertime tends to bring out the kid in me, or rather brings back so many snowy winter memories from long ago that remind me of when I…
Exploring The Last Green Valley: Ranger Bill shares bucket list for 2017
There is so much to see and do here in The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor. In my job, I get to explore many of the natural and cultural wonders of our region, and every year I try to visit and experience each of…
Exploring The Last Green Valley: Ranger Bill shares 2016 highlights
Exploring The Last Green Valley: Ranger Bill shares 2016 highlights Here we are, on the cusp of a new year.Before we welcome 2017, let me share with you a few fun places that I visited during the four seasons of 2016. Perhaps it will provide…
Exploring The Last Green Valley: White pine is only Christmas tree variety native to region
Exploring The Last Green Valley: White pine is only Christmas tree variety native to region “I never thought it was such a bad little tree. It’s not bad at all, really. Maybe it just needs a little love.” – Linus Van Pelt, “A Charlie Brown…
Exploring The Last Green Valley: Winter is perfect time of year to get outdoors
Exploring The Last Green Valley: Winter is perfect time of year to get outdoors The Winter Solstice will be marked at 5:44 a.m. this coming Wednesday. The word solstice comes from the Latin words for sun and to stand still. Â Winter Solstice is when the…
Exploring The Last Green Valley: From history to hiking, shopping and dining, Sturbridge has it all
Exploring The Last Green Valley: From history to hiking, shopping and dining, Sturbridge has it all  As I travel around the 35 towns that comprise The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor and speak to community groups about our region, I sometimes am surprised when…
Exploring The Last Green Valley: Hibernating season is upon us
Exploring The Last Green Valley: Hibernating season is upon us The calendar still says autumn, but sunrise today revealed a dusting of snow on the cars and driveway. During morning farm chores I had to break up the thin layer of ice that had skimmed…