Newsletter

The Nature Museum at Grafton has a quarterly newsletter that updates our museum members and community members about what is happening at The Museum.

It includes:

• a public program calendar
• articles about natural history
• advice about local places to visit
• information about the Museum’s work with teachers and students

In order to receive the regularly mailed newsletters you must be a member, but you are welcome to call The Museum if you would like us to send you one.

Announcements

Margo has been here 10 years!

If you see Margo, tell her thank you and congratulations. This fall Margo will have been working at The Nature Museum for 10 years. When Margo started in 1997 she was the only employee and the Museum was still located in a relatively small space above the post office in Grafton. Margo has seen the museum through a lot of changes during her time here. She has helped the museum through major growth in so many aspects; growth outreach programs to schools and libraries, growth in our public program offerings, managing the educational programs and exhibits at the Fish Ladder in Bellows Falls, the creation of summer and vacation camps, and teacher trainings. All of us here at the Nature Museum know that Margo played an important role in the Museum's growth. Her incredibly hard work behind the scenes, her love of teaching and curiosity about the natural world, and her smiling face make this museum a success, and we feel incredibly thankful to have her here with us.

-Betsy Stacey, Lynn Morgan and the Board

Awesome Website for The Nature Museum!!

We are excited to announce that The Nature Museum has a much improved website! (You're on it now!!) The web address is still the same (www.nature-museum.org), but as you can see, everything else is different.

We feel fortunate to have had Carol Sevick from Vermont Technology Partners, Inc. volunteer her time to build a new website for us, and continue to make sure everything runs smoothly. Vermont Technology Partners, Inc. (VTP), located in the Hooker Dunham building in Brattleboro, specializes in partnering with businesses and non-profit organizations who want to benefit by utilizing information technology. Their services include website development, technology consultations, programming and database development, and website hosting. You can find out more about VTP at www.vttechpartners.com.

We hope you find this new website as exciting as we do. Thank you to VTP and to Karen L. Thalin, one of the Museum’s advisors, who will be managing the site into the future.

Nature News Through Your Radio

The Nature Museum would like to announce that Wool.fm will be playing a short natural history episode called “Beyond Your Backyard” every Sunday at 5:00 PM. We have created a new 3 minute, mini radio show every month, so tune in the learn about local plants and animals in this months episode of “Beyond Your Backyard.”

The Wool.fm signal reaches people from Ascutney to Brattleboro, from Charlestown to Keene, from Grafton to the Connecticut River, and from the Connecticut River all the way to Marlow, NH. To find out more about Wool.fm you can turn your radio dial to 100.1 fm, or you can check their website at http://www.wool.fm.

The Fish Ladder and Watershed Visitor Center Opens Again for the Season

The Nature Museum staffs the Fish Ladder and Watershed Visitor Center in Bellows Falls, VT. The facility is owned and operated by TransCanada which also owns the hydroelectric facility. The Nature Museum has added displays and exhibits to the Fish Ladder Center that focus on the plants and animals of the Connecticut River watershed. This year the displays focus on Muskrats, waterfowl, beavers, food chains, fish crafts, and animal bones as well as the permanent displays pertaining to shad and salmon.

While the visitor center is open all summer, the water does not run through the fish ladder throughout the open season. TransCanada is instructed to open the ladder by the Fish and Wildlife Service when the Atlantic Salmon has been spotted passing through the Vernon facility. The ladder is most likely to be open between Memorial Day and the 4th of July.