The Naturalist’s Blog

Week of May 28, 2023 – June 3, 2023 by Elizabeth Suzedell, Environmental Educator Getting outside in nature is so beneficial to our health as humans. From going on a gentle walk to find the season’s blooming wildflowers or backyard birds, to an intense hiking expedition up to a mountain’s peak, there are so many ways to discover and enjoy the wonders of our earth. One of these activities that [...]

Week of May 21, 2023 – May 27, 2023 by Anna Stunkel, Environmental Educator Recent days have been filled with birds as many spring arrivals flew in at Baltimore Woods and beyond. Last Friday morning, I led a program all about rediscovering the joys of childhood in springtime as an adult. As we grow older, many of the simple joys that we experience as children can become clouded by stress [...]

Week of May 14, 2023 – May 20, 2023 by Bridget Jones, Environmental Educator In spring, nature’s constant process of change is on full display. Wildflowers bloom, fade away, and are replaced in quick succession, visited by busy insects in every shape and color. Walking through the woods, you may catch a glimpse of a toad beneath the leaves, a brightly-colored warbler high in the canopy, or a butterfly darting [...]

Week of May 7, 2023 – May 13, 2023 by Elizabeth Suzedell, Environmental Educator It feels very different at Baltimore Woods than it did just a month ago. The frigid temperatures of winter have passed and long days have returned, bringing warmth and light. As the sun gets higher in the sky, rises earlier, and sets later, life continues to emerge and thrive. There is suddenly so much to discover [...]

Week of April 30, 2023 – May 6, 2023 by Sunny Guyette, Environmental Educator Along many local roadways and trails, there is a leafy green plant emerging with heart-shaped leaves with toothed edges. Garlic Mustard or Alliaria petiolata is an invasive herbaceous, flowering plant that smells like garlic when crushed. The clustered white flowers bloom in May or June and only appear in the second year of the plant’s life. Garlic Mustard [...]

Week of April 23, 2023 – April 29, 2023 by Bridget Jones, Environmental Educator Warm spring weather has finally come to Central New York, and with it, life in the forest has burst into full visibility. Emerging wildflowers transform the world with their vibrant colors, while animals returning from migration or hibernation bring sound and motion to the woods. It seems like every day brings an encounter with a new [...]

Week of April 16, 2023 – April 22, 2023 by Anna Stunkel, Environmental Educator As buds burst and birdsong echoes from the forests, a great variety of scaly and slimy critters awaken. At Baltimore Woods, Phillip’s Pond is one of the best places to find our reptile and amphibian friends. These animals are known as herptiles or “herps,” and looking for them is called herping. The water can be teeming [...]

Week of April 9, 2023 – April 15, 2023 by David DuBois, Land Steward Water, even on small streams can create impressive changes. Just this past Wednesday rain flooded Spring Brook here at Baltimore Woods, and washed out a culvert on the Boundary Trail. This water moved cubic yards of material in short order and destroyed a section of trail, certainly a force to be reckoned with. Fortunately the hard [...]

Week of April 2, 2023 – April 8, 2023 by David DuBois, Land Steward Everyone knows that spring is the time for flowers, but what is so special about this time of year that allows our woodland herbs to create such spectacular displays? Spring represents unique opportunities in a deciduous forest. The only part of the year that is both reliably warm enough to photosynthesize and well lit on the [...]