Giant of the Forest: The Splendid Tulip Poplar
“I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines.” — Henry David Thoreau One of my favorite places to visit is Nathan Hale State Forest at the Nathan…
Finding Beauty in a Summer Day
The Summer Solstice may be in June, but for us New Englanders it is July when summer really starts. The heat of the season draws me outdoors to the wealth of beauty right out my doorstep. Here is what I’ve been seeing so far and…
Independence Day: Remembering Samuel Ashbow
I grew up outside of Boston, and as a kid was told the story of one of my ancestors who fought in the battle of Bunker Hill. It was the first major battle of the American Revolution and while the colonists lost the battle, they…
Timber Cruise Request for Proposals
The Last Green Valley, Inc. (TLGV) is seeking the services of a Connecticut licensed forester, qualified in conducting timber cruises to conduct a forest inventory for the purposes of a valuation of standing timber on approximately 181.6 acres of forestland, located in the towns of…
Summer is a time to explore our ponds and lakes
Last Monday was the summer solstice and the official start of summer. We have a tradition at The Last Green Valley (TLGV) to take in the summer solstice with a sunset paddle, and Monday about 30 of us enjoyed a beautiful evening at Mansfield Hollow…
The fascinating life of oak gall wasps
Earlier this month my colleague, LyAnn Graff, brought in an interesting looking fuzz ball surrounding a thin leafy branch of a burr oak tree. It was about the size of a golf ball, but with red-tipped small points on the wooly surface. I figured it…
The Last Green Valley is Offering a TerraCorps (AmeriCorps) Position
The Last Green Valley, Inc. (TLGV) has been selected by TerraCorps, an AmeriCorps affiliated environmental non-profit, to be a Service Site for the 2021-22 TerraCorps program year. This partnership will allow TLGV to host a Youth Education Coordinator in a full-time, 11-month service position from…
Exploring the Dawn
“Before the work of the day, taste the poetry of the day! Our poor, battered minds and sprits need the dawn. There is the calm of nature, the sanity of the earth, in each breath of scented air on a sunrise in June.” — Edwin…
June is Busting Out All Over
June is here, and like the old Rodgers and Hammerstein’s song from the musical “Carousel,” it is busting out all over with blooms and the warming sun announcing the coming Summer Solstice. I did a bit of research and was not surprised to discover June…