The Naturalist’s Blog

Week of April 7, 2024 – April 13, 2024 by Elizabeth Suzedell, Environmental Educator At Baltimore Woods, we have a program for children called Trail School. One of our naturalists brings a group on a hike to a different spot on the preserve each week for a mostly child-led exploration. It’s entirely outdoors- rain, snow, or shine. This new month has already brought us plenty of April showers (and snowflakes). Surprisingly, [...]

Week of March 31, 2024 – April 6, 2024 by Tom Meier, Camp Director and Program Manager Can you hear it? Goldfinches, sparrows, cardinals, bluebirds, and robins are all singing their little lungs out. Loud flocks of geese have been moving about overhead for weeks and are settling out in the ponds and marshes, already sitting on nests. The welcome song of spring peepers heralding in the spring. Can you see [...]

Week of March 24, 2024 – March 30, 2024 by Catherine McLaughlin, Environmental Educator When you visit Baltimore Woods, or even your yard, how do you interact with nature? Are you taking photos? Birdwatching? Absorbing the sunlight as it peeks through the clouds? Exercising? No matter how you use the outdoors, if you take a moment you can find something to learn more about. For example, during a recent Trail School program, one [...]

Week of March 17, 2024 – March 23, 2024 by Anna Stunkel, Environmental Educator It’s certainly been a mild winter here in Central New York. Small snowstorms have been interspersed with warm days in the 50s, 60s, or even 70s. With the warm temperatures, early spring birds have been returning in full force. A massive flock of Common Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds, and Brown-headed Cowbirds descended on the Baltimore Woods feeders on [...]

Week of March 10, 2024 – March 17, 2024 by Elizabeth Suzedell, Environmental Educator A 45°F and rainy March night sounds like the kind of evening most of us would want to spend hunkering down inside, staying cozy and dry. Not for amphibians! On the first rainy and relatively warm (40°+) nights of spring, salamanders and frogs come out of their winter burrows and migrate to vernal pools to mate. Even [...]

Week of March 3, 2024 – March 9, 2024 by David DuBois, Land Steward Throughout Baltimore Woods you will see flashes of color year round. But through the winter some of the brightest colors frequently take the form of flags and flagging. These small pieces of brightly colored plastic serve an important part of our stewardship work here at Baltimore Woods, but their meaning and value may not be clear as [...]

Week of February 25, 2024 – March 2, 2024 by Catherine McLaughlin, Environmental Educator This past week while out with my camp group, my Teen Volunteer reminded me that we only have one more month of winter! With the spring equinox now less than a month away, I find myself wondering where was winter this year? For February winter break camp we started at about 20 degrees with snow, we [...]

Week of February 18, 2024 – February 24, 2024 by Anna Stunkel, Environmental Educator The recent weather has been uncharacteristically sunny here in Central New York (not to mention warm!), helping to lift our spirits and encourage outdoor adventures. During a walk around the preserve on one of these gorgeous days, I found myself attuned to how the sunshine highlights different textures in the woods. Tiny details like leaf veins [...]

Week of February 11, 2024 – February 17, 2024 by Elizabeth Suzedell, Environmental Educator On a 90°F and sunny summer day, would you rather sit on black pavement or green grass? That’s a question I sometimes ask the 4th grade students in their second Nature in the City program all about energy. Many of them know that the reason pavement gets so hot (over 140°F!) is because it’s a dark color which [...]