The Naturalist’s Blog

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 [...]

Week of February 4, 2024 – February 10, 2024 by Catherine McLaughlin, Environmental Educator It is 40 degrees. In February. In Central New York. This doesn’t feel normal to me as someone who grew up around here, but it seems like muddy winters are becoming more common. How I played outside most of winter is different from what I see today. I would be sledding or digging cave systems in [...]

Week of January 28, 2024 – February 3, 2024 by Anna Stunkel, Environmental Educator A few days ago, I stepped onto the back deck of the nature center and a huge group of juncos took off twittering towards the woods. I felt bad to have startled them while busily cleaning up stuffed animals and small snow shovels from a fun afternoon of Nature’s Little Explorers class. As I headed back [...]

Week of January 21, 2024 – January 27, 2024 by Elizabeth Suzedell, Environmental Educator Have you ever looked up close at a snowflake? When a weak low-pressure system came through the area on Tuesday, Baltimore Woods got a little over an inch of light and fluffy snow, full of spectacular snowflakes. As I was getting out of the car in the morning, I noticed some “perfect” snow crystals falling and [...]

Week of January 14, 2024 – January 20, 2024 by Catherine McLaughlin, Environmental Educator When I am going outside in winter, I pack myself a hot drink like tea or hot cocoa, especially with how the wind and snow have been lately. This gives me something to look forward to when I am hiking or walking somewhere. It feels like I am being warmed from the inside out when I [...]