January 2008 Newsletter Archives

Events

Winter 2008 Calendar

Stargazing at Vermont Academy
Date: Saturday, January 5th
Time: 7:00 PM-8:00 PM
Place: Meet at the Vermont Academy Observatory
Cost: A Free Public Program

Meet at the Vermont Academy Observatory on Shepard Lane, off Pleasant Street. The Observatory is located in the field beyond the Chiver’s Center, Saxtons River, VT

Rain/Cloud Date, the following Sunday night.

Join Bob Anderson, Science and Astronomy teacher at Vermont Academy, and other local amateur astronomers for observations of the winter sky. Experience the awe of seeing the night sky through Vermont Academy’s large telescope, as well as several smaller telescopes. You are welcome to come for all or any part of the event.

Alaskan Adventure
Date: Tuesday, January 15th
Time: 7:00 PM-8:00 PM
Place: Meet at The Nature Museum
Cost: Donations Welcome

Join Stan and Pat Mack for an illuminated travelogue about their two week trip to Alaska. The trip brought them from Anchorage to Denali National Park to Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean. The second week included a cruise from Seward to Ketchikan. Along the way the Mac’s visited glaciers from a helicopter and took on the class III and IV river rapids in Denali National Park.

Mighty Acorns Explorers Club (Preschool Nature Day)
Animal Tracks - Ages 3 - 5
Date: Wednesday, January 16th
Time: Session 1: 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Time: Session 2: 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM
Place: Meet at The Nature Museum
Cost: Members - $5
Cost: Non-members - $7 (prices are for all participating children)

Pre-registration preferred

Once a month, The Nature Museum will offer this fun-filled time for preschoolers and their caregivers. Participants will explore outside and visit different habitats. This hands-on time will foster creativity and allow them to connect with the natural world. Participants will also enjoy the many resources that the museum has to offer through the exhibits, puppet shows, and dramatic play.

Bat Program and Starlit Ice Skating
Date: Saturday, January 19th
Time: 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Place: Meet at Grafton Ponds Nordic Ski Center, Townshend Rd, Grafton
Cost: Member Adults - $5; Member Kids - $3
Cost: Non-member Adults - $8; Non-member Kids - $5

Celebrate the night with an inside program about Bats and a glide across a pond under the stars. This is a great way to get out and enjoy the beauty of a winter’s eve, and learn a little something about those fascinating furry, flying creatures. Ice skates are available to rent from Grafton Ponds for a fee.

Stargazing at Vermont Academy
Date: Saturday, February 2nd
Time: 8:00 PM-10:00 PM
Place: Meet at the Vermont Academy Observatory
Cost: A Free Public Program

Meet at the Vermont Academy Observatory on Shepard Lane, off Pleasant Street. The Observatory is located in the field beyond the Chiver’s Center, Saxtons River, VT

Rain/Cloud Date, the following Sunday night.

Indoor Tracking Workshop
Date: Wednesday, February 6th
Time: 7:00 PM-8:30 PM
Place: Meet at the Rockingham Free Public Library, Bellows Falls, VT
Cost: A Free Public Program

In the winter, animals leave clues about where they’ve been, who they are, and what they’ve been doing. Participants will learn the basics about the track patterns animals leave and learn to identify them through slides, specimens, and casts of tracks. This program will serve as a great introduction to the outdoor tracking afternoon at Minards Pond the following weekend. This program is part of the “Exploring Rockingham: Nature Out Our Backdoor” series, which is made possible by a grant from TransCanada.

Minards Pond Wildlife Tracks and Traces
Date: Sunday, February 10th
Time: 1:00 PM-3:00 PM
Place: Meet at Minards Pond
Cost: A Free Public Program

Meet at Mindars Pond, just north of Bellows Falls. Take Rte 5 to Pond Road (across from Dr. Johnson's office). Park outside the gate at the top of the hill, on the side of the road. Please do not block the gate.

Gather up your friends and family for a fun filled walk around Minards Pond, the reservoir for Bellows Falls. Join a Nature Museum naturalist to search for tracks and other signs left by our woodland neighbors. Snowshoes are recommended if the snow cover warrants it.

This program is part of the “Exploring Rockingham: Nature Out Our Backdoor” series which is made possible by a grant from TransCanada.

The Great Dinosaur Hunt
Date: Saturday, February 16th
Time: Session 1: 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM, Ages 5 - 6
Time: Session 2: 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM, Ages 7 - 9
Place: Meet at Chester Andover Elementary School, Chester, VT
Cost: Members - $22
Cost: Non-members - $26

Pre-registration required by February 10th
An adult partner is required for each child
10 student limit for each session

Try your hand at being a paleontologist! Join the Museum in welcoming Nancy Walker of Dinosaur Discovery, who will lead an engaging program on dinosaurs. Participants will conduct a hands-on “fossil dig” by learning about how fossils develop, are uncovered, analyzed and reconstructed. Children and their adult partners will find their own hidden dinosaur or marine reptile skeleton, put it together and create a reconstructed life-sized mural to take home. During the two hours of the program, participants will go through a process similar to that which takes paleontologists 3-5 years to complete.

Mighty Acorns Explorers Club (Preschool Nature Day)
Animals In Winter - Ages 3 - 5
Date: Wednesday, February 20th
Time: Session 1: 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Time: Session 2: 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM
Place: Meet at The Nature Museum
Cost: Members - $5
Cost: Non-members - $7 (prices are for all participating children)

Pre-registration preferred

Vacation Camp: Exploring Winter Through Bookmaking
Ages: For students in grades 3 - 5
Date: February 18th - 22nd
Time: Monday - Friday, 9:30 AM-12:00 PM
Place: Meet at Great River Art Institutes' studios at 33 Bridge St, Bellows Falls, VT
Cost: Tuition for students from the Fall Mountain Regional School District public school system is $25. Tuition for all others is $50.

For More Information or to register, contact Jackie at 802-463-3330 Jackie@greatriverarts.org

In this week-long workshop students will learn basic bookmaking techniques and then fill their books with explorations of nature in winter. Students will sketch, learn crayon resist techniques, create their own tracking field guide and learn about winter adaptations for animals. This workshop will also include trips to the Fish Ladder Visitor Center to see the exhibits.

This program is in collaboration with Great River Arts Institute in Bellows Falls, VT

Family Camp: Snowshoe Hike
Date: Thursday, February 21st
Time: 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Place: Meet at The Nature Museum
Cost: Members - $4
Cost: Non-members - $7 (prices are for all participating children)

Pre-registration preferred

Join a Nature Museum naturalist for a fun trek through the woods of Grafton. Weather permitting, participants will snowshoe on trails, looking for tracks and other interesting natural notables. The Nature Museum has a limited number of snowshoes that can be borrowed, so call ahead to reserve them.

Night Time Snowshoe Ramble
Date: Saturday, February 23rd
Time: 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Place: Meet at Grafton Ponds Nordic Ski Center, Townshend Rd, Grafton
Cost: Member Adults - $5; Member Kids - $3
Cost: Non-member Adults - $8; Non-member Kids - $5

Get out and experience the peace and the mystery of the night forest after dark. After an introduction inside everyone will put on snowshoes and walk through Grafton Pond’s moonlit trails. This is a magical time to experience the woods. We will return to the building to warm up by the fire and sip hot chocolate. Snowshoes are available to rent from Grafton Ponds for a fee.

Vacation Camp: Snow Games - Ages 6 - 8
Date: Tuesday, February 26th
Time: 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Place: Meet at The Nature Museum
Cost: Members - $15
Cost: Non-members - $20

Pre-registration preferred

February vacation is a great time to play in the snow and cold. While participants play group games they will learn how wild animals make use of the snow in the winter and live in the cold temperatures. This will be an active day outdoors so bring your warmest clothes, boots, a snack, and a bag lunch.

Vacation Camp: Winter (Snowshoe) Treks
Date: Wednesday, February 27th
Time: Session 1: 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM, Ages 6 - 8
Time: Session 2: 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, Ages 9 - 12
Place: Meet at The Nature Museum
Cost: Members - $7
Cost: Non-members - $10

Pre-registration preferred

Bring warm clothes, lunch and snack and a spirit of adventure for a trek through winter’s wild terrain. Participants will snowshoe (weather permitting) down a trail and look for signs of tracks of animals like turkeys, deer and foxes. They’ll also play games along the way.

Vacation Camp: Wild Tracking
Date: Thursday, February 28th
Time: 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, Ages 6 - 10
Place: Meet at The Nature Museum
Cost: Members - $15
Cost: Non-members - $20

Pre-registration preferred

Learn the basics of tracking wild animals in the snow. Combining indoor skill building and outdoor field skills, we’ll cover the fundamentals of tracking. Participants will tromp through fields and forest on snowshoes (weather permitting) to search for signs of animals. At the end of the day together there will be s’mores over a campfire in the woods.

Garden Design Series
Date: Thursdays, February 28th - March 27th
Time: 6:30 AM to 8:00 PM, last session goes until 9:00 PM
Place: Meet at Terrigenous Landscaping in Chester above the Moon Dog Cafe
Cost: $105 including materials

Please Pre-register

March is the perfect time to dream about gardens. Join us for an informative and inspiring series as we explore how to create a garden that reflects our individual visions. Laurie Danforth, president of the Nature Museum, long time gardener and greenhouse owner will be joined by Jana Wunderle, designer at Terrigenous Landscaping and Laurie Bolotin of Morningstar Perennials in teaching this popular studio format class. This series will incorporate lecture, practical hands-on design work and professional responses to each student’s individual garden design. Come converse with other garden Lovers as we get ready for Spring. Class limited to 12 students.

Bookbinding Workshop for Educators
Date: Saturday, March 1st
Time: 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Place: Meet at Thetford Academy, Thetford, VT
Cost: $65 including materials

Pre-registration Required

Join Susan Bonthron for this practical and inspiring workshop designed for educators. Susan has studied book arts with teachers such as Linda Lembke, and many others, and at the Center for Book Arts in New York City. She runs the Otter Pond Bindery which you can find out more at otterpondbindery.com She has spent many years working with teachers to integrate book arts into curriculum. During this workshop we will build two books that could be recreated with a group of classroom students. The first book is an accordion style book about habitats and the second is a book pertaining to clouds and cloud identification. This class is limited to 15 students.

For More Information Please Contact The Nature Museum at 802-843-2111.

Stargazing at Vermont Academy
Date: Saturday, March 1st
Time: 8:00 PM-10:00 PM
Place: Meet at the Vermont Academy Observatory
Cost: A Free Public Program

Meet at the Vermont Academy Observatory on Shepard Lane, off Pleasant Street. The Observatory is located in the field beyond the Chiver’s Center, Saxtons River, VT

Rain/Cloud Date, the following Sunday night.

Tibetan Travelogue
Date: Tuesday, March 4th
Time: 7:00 PM-8:00 PM
Place: Meet at The Nature Museum
Cost: Donations Welcome

Join Sally Warren, a Grafton resident, for a program describing her trip to Tibet in September of 2007. She, along with five other Vermonters, joined a large group of Argentineans, Brits and Tibetans on a pilgrimage to the Sacred Mt. Kailas. This slide show of Tibet will include shots of Lhasa, the Western plateau, the path around Mt. Kailas and a group of joyful pilgrims. There will be time for lots of questions.

Snowshoe Trek
Date: Saturday, March 8th
Time: 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Place: Meet at Grafton Ponds Nordic Ski Center, Townshend Rd, Grafton
Cost: Member Adults - $5; Member Kids - $3
Cost: Non-member Adults - $8; Non-member Kids - $5

Join a naturalist-led exploration for late winter wildlife signs as you explore the New England Landscape. Depending on the conditions, participants will either hike or snowshoe through a diversity of habitats. We will learn to read the stories in the snow told by animal tracks and traces. Snowshoes are available to rent from Grafton Ponds for a fee.

Mighty Acorns Explorers Club (Preschool Nature Day)
Owl Exploration - Ages 3 - 5
Date: Wednesday, March 19th
Time: Session 1: 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Time: Session 2: 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM
Place: Meet at The Nature Museum
Cost: Members - $7
Cost: Non-members - $9 (prices are for all participating children)

Pre-registration preferred

Once a month, The Nature Museum will offer this fun-filled time for preschoolers and their caregivers. Participants will explore outside and visit different habitats. This hands-on time will foster creativity and allow them to connect with the natural world. Children will also make use of the many resources that the museum has to offer through the exhibits, puppet shows, and dramatic play.

Spring Has Sprung Annual Egg Hunt
Date: Saturday, March 22nd
Time: 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Place: Meet at The Nature Museum
Cost: Members - $3 each; family rate $8 maximum
Cost: Non-members - $5; family rate $12 maximum

Celebrate the beginning of Spring with the Nature Museum’s annual egg hunt. As migrating birds begin to return to our local landscape, take some time to think about the wonders of eggs. After an indoor introduction to a variety of bird’s eggs and nests, participants will head outside and search for hidden eggs. Inside the eggs will be secret puzzle clues which, when solved, will lead the group to its prize. Everyone will come out a winner at this egg hunt!

For more information please contact The Nature Museum at 802-843-2111 or e-mail staff@nature-museum.org, or check our website at http://www.nature-museum.org.

Betsy Bennett Stacey
The Nature Museum at Grafton
186 Townshend Rd
Grafton, VT 05146
staff@nature-museum.org
802-843-2111

Check out our new website! http://www.nature-museum.org

Did You Know?

Winter Goldfinches

After Goldfinches molt their golden summer finery they tend to spend the winter in flocks of 5-100 birds. They feed on grass and weed seeds in fields, meadows and backyards. They especially like Ragweed, Thistles, Goldenrod, Evening Primrose and Mullein. In the winter they also enjoy the seeds of birches, alders and conifers.

You may see these birds calmly picking out seeds and holding on tight to these plants while the winter wind blows. Thistle plants are not only important to the Goldfinch as a food source, they use the plants’ downy seeds for nesting material. In fact, goldfinches are among the latest nesting birds in New England, in this way their nesting coincides with seed production of thistles.

Watch for Goldfinches at your bird feeder this winter, and remember, the males will have molted their bright yellow in exchange for a more humble brownish-gray winter suit.

Curator's Corner

Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches

The Nature Museum has a few new residents, Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches! These large, glossy insects (which were donated by Heather Lane of Athens, VT) will be on exhibit most of the time, and will be used often in our insect programs and habitat programs. Though Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches were once only found on the island of Madagascar, they are now often sold in pet stores. The “Hissing “ part of their name comes from their ability to force air out of their spiracles (the small holes along their sides which they use to bring oxygen into their bodies) A hissing noise is produced as the air flows through the spiracles and is meant to scare away predators or other insects when defending a territory. We rarely hear these insects hiss though, so they must be quite content. Come and see these fascinating creatures at the museum.

Local Natural Treasures

Local Natural Treasures - Bellows Falls Birdwatching

Other then watching the birds at your birdfeeder, you may not think much about bird-watching in the winter, but there are a number of local places where you can see interesting species in the winter. One of them is the “Thermal Pool” in Bellows Falls. The water in this small pond does not freeze during the winter, and so you are likely to see birds that you are unlikely to see in other places this time of year, such as Robins, Phoebes, Winter Wrens, Carolina Wrens and Wood Ducks. The water is warm enough that some insects are probably able to hatch out and provide food. The thermal pool is right near the Connecticut River, below the dam, so while you are visiting the pond you can also check out what avian species are visiting the river. Because the water is open below the dam you can sometimes see Bald Eagles there soaring through the skies. By March it is time to search that same open water for waterfowl such as male mergansers in their striking black and white breeding plumage. You may also see Golden Eyes, Hooded Mergansers and Bufflehead ducks. So bring your binoculars and stop by Bellows Falls for some birdwatching.

Directions:
From the north, enter downtown via Rockingham St. In town center, head west on Bridge Street. Take an immediate right between buildings. The road drops and curves sharply left, crossing RR tracks. The river is on the left. A short distance ahead on the right, is the small pond. From the south, enter town on Rt 121. Take a right on Bridge Street, then proceed as above.

Director's Musings

REFLECTIONS FROM THE PRESIDENT

The first big snowstorm reminds us all that the year is coming to a close and a new one is just weeks away. It is a natural time to begin to reflect on the ups and downs of the past year. Here at the Nature Museum we are taking a look at how well we have met our goals for 2007. I am jubilant to report that we have had a gangbuster year.

In January 2007 the Nature Museum Board and Staff decided to focus on three areas for the next year: fundraising, connectedness and space concerns. Let me fill you in on a few of the highlights of 2007. The Nature Museum Board and Staff produced our first major fundraising event called “A Night Out for Nature”. This sold-out event raised substantial funds to support our environmental educational work as well as connecting us more strongly with Grafton and neighboring communities. The positive ripples from this fun and educational evening are still being felt by the Museum. Board members and staff worked tirelessly on the many details of putting together such a big production. An offshoot of this diligence was that we coalesced into a much stronger and more focused team. We all feel even more confident about our strength as an institution as we approach goal setting for next year.

In 2007 the Museum branched out both in adding new programming topics and in holding programs in new locations (part of our space issue too) to reach more deeply into neighboring communities. This year we began to co-sponsor a monthly Astronomy Night at Vermont Academy. We held a discussion group on sustainability in Saxton’s River. We co-sponsored a wonderful cloud program with the Rockingham Library and a garden design class in Chester to name just a few of our outreach educational offerings held outside Grafton.

During 2007 we welcomed two new board members who fill important roles for our organization. Will Danforth is our new treasurer. Will, who is best known as a local singer-songwriter musician, had a previous career in the financial industry and brings all his analytical experience to bear when perusing our budgets and numbers. Claudio Veliz is an architect and astronomer whose passion for both topics are invaluable as we look at our space issues and develop new programming about the universe and beyond. Look for Claudio’s course in astronomy to begin Fall 2008. Space within our building is still a focus area which continues to be high on the priority list for 2008. We are bigger than our four walls can contain and how we resolve this problem will be one of our big questions to answer in the coming months. We will be developing an assessment team whose task it will be to identify our building needs and options.

All in all we have had a wonderfully active and productive year and look forward to 2008 with a renewed sense of dedication to linking people with nature and each other. As a board we have developed into a hard-working team ready to tackle whatever issues face us in 2008. I am proud to preside over such an inspiring group of individuals who continually show their love for the earth by donating countless hours to the work of the Nature Museum. I am grateful for all of you, our friends, who so generously support our mission of connecting children and adults with the wonders of land, sea, and skies. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Laurie Danforth

Feature Nature Story

It’s Winter Time:
Do You Know Where Your Fish Are?

Winter is trying for us warm-blooded creatures. But think for a minute about fish that live in cold water all winter long? They can’t throw another piece of wood into the stove so where do they go, what do they do and how well do they survive North Country winters?

Winter is a time of stress for fish. Our fish species have experienced major physiological adaptations in order to survive this yearly ordeal. Each of the two major habitats for fish, lakes and rivers provide particular challenges for fish to survive their struggle with cold temperatures.

Unfrozen lake water receives oxygen from two sources, the mixing of the water with air at the surface and from oxygen released into the water as a by-product of the photosynthesis of aquatic plants. In winter most of the plants that produced oxygen are dead and not producing oxygen. Oxygen levels are further reduced because the armies of microbes are using oxygen while working away to digest the dead plants, a double whammy for fish.During most winters, lakes freeze over so no mixing of air into water can take place at the surface. If there is snow cover then the water below the ice is in darkness so no photosynthesis is possible at all not even by phytoplankton. Deeper lakes become stratified with the oxygen depleted water at the bottom. As oxygen becomes depleted fish migrate up the water column toward the surface or toward inlet streams where oxygen levels are higher.

Over the winter in order to balance the low dissolved oxygen levels, fish being cold blooded experience a drop in their heart and metabolic rate. They need less oxygen and their blood is better able to absorb any oxygen available as they just sit out the cold. A reduced metabolic rate reduces the energy required to maintain the body. The downside of a slow metabolism is that it limits what fish can do. For instance, they are much slower to escape danger.

In the worst winters the stage is set for a winterkill. If low oxygen conditions persist and fish are unable to move to other areas, the situation can result in a die-off due to asphyxiation. Winterkill is most common in shallow lakes because of longer periods of no photosynthesis in the water. Lakes with rich, dense aquatic plant communities in summer are also susceptible to winterkill during harsh winters because more plants mean more microbes and more oxygen removed from the water. Game fish such as trout, pike and perch are especially sensitive to winterkill because of their need for high oxygen levels.

Now what happens in rivers? Many of the winter conditions in rivers are the same as in lakes: plants are producing little oxygen and there is a drawdown on available oxygen by decomposition of the plants. The three identified types of river ice: frazil, anchor and surface ice each create their own problems for river fish.

Rivers and streams seldom freeze over completely so the air into water mixing at the surface replenishes oxygen in the river most of the winter. Fish kills seldom occur in the winter from oxygen depletion in riverine habitats unless there are unusual ice jamming events or surface ice influences flow conditions that strand fish in areas that have no water circulation.

As water temperatures drop fish retreat to deeper pools in search of less current. This is in response to their slower metabolism and less energy to fight the current. Studies show that larger fish prefer the deeper pools. As winter progresses smaller fish are pushed out of the deeper quiet water to shallow or riffle areas where they must search out any substrate formation like a bolder that offers them protection from the current.

There is a relationship between good winter habitat and the size of the fish in it, the better the habitat the bigger the fish. Yet river ice is a major challenge to all fish. Even ideal holding areas can deteriorate if ice reduces the total area available for flowing water. That can force fish together. Wild fish are stressed by close proximity to other fish.

Anchor ice freezes from the bottom up in shallower areas of a stream. When it does, eggs of all aquatic species and immobile macroinvertebrate life die of asphyxiation because the anchor ice stops water and thereby oxygen from reaching any life form living on the bottom of a stream.

Surface ice can reduce the available flow area of a stream side to side and in the vertical dimension as well. Currents will increase even in the deeper pools as the size of the available channel is reduced but must still move the same amount of water. The increased velocity of the water through deep water pools can rob fish of that sanctuary.

Frazil ice is uncongealed ice crystals floating just below the surface ice. Studies of the effects of frazil ice have shown that fish can die because of the ice crystals getting lodged in their mouths and on or between their gill plates.

One last ice threat can occur as winter ends. During high water ice out events the moving ice can scour the bottom of the rivers sweeping away all life including fish eggs and macroinvertebrates leaving a sterile river bottom until it is repopulated over time through naturally occurring drifting of species into that reach of stream.

Fish have evolved their own survival responses to winter and because of that are mostly successful during this challenging time. The evolutionary adaptations that lower their need for food and oxygen and their instinctive selection of holding areas that have higher oxygen concentrations and slower flows help fish overcome a North Country winter, but it isn’t easy!

David L. Deen is the upper valley River Steward for the Connecticut River Watershed Council. CRWC has been an articulate voice for the Connecticut River for more than half a century. David is a member of the Community Advisory Committee of the Nature Museum at Grafton.

Our Book and Movie Picks

Great Tracking Guide Available

Lynn Levine and Martha Mitchell, both friends of The Nature Museum, have a new version of their tracking guide available:

Mammal Tracks And Scat: Life-Size Tracking Guide

This updated version now includes mammal scat as well as their tracks. The guide is a wonderful companion as you travel through the snow covered fields and forests. The tracks are life-size for easy identification and the pages are coated so that you can lay it in the snow and not ruin the book.

The Nature Museum is selling copies of this book in our Second Nature Store. We are happy to send a copy to you if you are unable to make it into the Museum.