The Naturalist’s Blog

Week of January 1, 2023 – January 7, 2023 by Elizabeth Suzedell, Environmental Educator As 2022 ends, I find myself reflecting on the past year at Baltimore Woods. I am especially thinking about all of the connections with nature that this preserve has provided us. Through the trails, the Interpretive Center, public programs, Summer Nature Day Camps, and Nature in the City lessons, so many people of all ages were able to [...]

Week of December 25, 2022 – December 31, 2022 by Bridget Jones, Environmental Educator This holiday season, I’m looking forward to spending some time in an ecosystem very different from that of Central New York. I’ll be spending the holidays with my family on the coast of New Jersey, where I grew up. Although I love Central New York, visiting the coast always renews my appreciation for the beauty and [...]

Week of December 18, 2022 – December 24, 2022 by Sunny Guyette, Environmental Educator I used to dread winters, I really do not like being cold. But that apprehensiveness to accept winter changed when I had to go outside for two hours everyday for my Environmental Science class in High School. I realized that if I lived in an area where it was always warm, then I wouldn’t appreciate being [...]

Week of December 11, 2022 – December 17, 2022 by Elizabeth Suzedell, Environmental Educator Last week was rainy and drizzly. We had gloomy days with the ground continuously soaked with water. If there was so much moisture in the environment, why does our skin still feel so dry? The answer is because of the cold. Air in our atmosphere consists of several gasses, including water vapor. Warm air holds a [...]

Week of December 4, 2022 – December 10, 2022 by Anna Stunkel, Environmental Educator As December’s chill sets in, I fondly think back to days of catching frogs at the pond or marveling at frogs and toads hopping around on the forest floor. Do you ever wonder how these critters survive in the depths of winter? Some frogs, such as Northern Leopard Frogs and Green Frogs, sit deep below the [...]

Week of November 27, 2022 – December 3, 2022 by Bridget Jones, Environmental Educator In late fall, the forest seems to settle into a deeper level of silence. Buzzing and chirping insects have vanished and many animals are moving into dens for the winter. This past week, I took a walk through Baltimore Woods on a particularly quiet day. Without the usual backdrop of noise and activity, my attention focused [...]

Week of November 20, 2022 – November 26, 2022 by Sunny Guyette, Environmental Educator For the Syracuse City School District 5th grade Ecosystem Exploration field trips, I like to take my groups to a pond located along the Boundary Trail. Next to the pond, is a bat house. Oftentimes, when I ask the kids what kind of home they think it is, they rightfully mistake it as a birdhouse. I [...]

Week of November 13, 2022 – November 19, 2022 by Elizabeth Suzedell, Environmental Educator We have already had our first frost in Central New York, and waking up to a thin glaze of ice crystals covering the grass, other plants, and our cars is becoming more common as we approach mid-November. You may have occasionally noticed some thick dew throughout the autumn, and even though frost is ice, both dew [...]

Please note: This week’s Naturalist Blog contains somewhat graphic images and video links captured via a trail camera of real animals feeding on a deer carcass. Viewer discretion is advised. Week of November 6, 2022 – November 12, 2022 by Anna Stunkel, Environmental Educator A couple of weeks ago, some of our educators and Trail School participants set up trail cams on a deer carcass that we found near the edge of the [...]