📜 EwA Week Recap: Muskrat, Protecting Vernal Pools, Fells and Growing Center Walks & more...
Claire O'Neill
Here's the recap of another busy week at EwA and a few highlights of what's coming...
📸 So many sightings again this week. If we have to pick one, that'd be the observation of a muskrat by Jennifer at Alewife brook reservation. We posted about this brave little rodent earlier this year, if you miss, here it is!
The 2021 EwA vernal pool documentation (under permit) is in full swing. May the season be documentation-wise fruitful! Our objectives: [1] producing good habitat documentation (let's hope for low records of invasive plant species in and around pools), and [2] finding biological evidence (of vernal pool) that we can then submit to the MassWildlife's Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program for better protecting those pools against the rapidly increasing human pressure on their habitat > DYK that Human activities infringe on the home ranges of 85% of wild species with those with smaller habitats (like vernal pools), those close to extinction being the most vulnerable?
📊 Thanks to all for great biodiversity records this week! - 234 observations total over 131 species. Curious about this week's records that have been validated by the iNat community so far? > here.
Running tally: 🏆 To date, we recorded 60,186 observations of 5,989 distinct species! Check our EwA umbrella project and see the details per site/observer & more... > here.
📅 EwA Coming Events
Space is limited for all our events for health reasons and-as importantly–to avoid putting pressure on natural habitats. We are asking our audience to follow a Register-and-commit (or cancel when you know you can't come). 🎟️ > here.
- Don't miss our public Biodiversity walks this coming Saturday: 🎟️ Fells' Forest Exploration , and 🎟️ Plant & Wildlife Documentation walk at the Growing Center! They are great opportunities to learn about our local fauna, flora, and seasonal cycles while recording critical data to help science and our communities protect our urban natural habitats.
Also on the EwA calendar this week, EwA's Nature Virtual Hour | 1st Tuesdays at noon (🎟️ webinar registration) » A great opportunity to gather as a community and share our seasonal nature stories and our sightings. We're shifting to a monthly series, and we will be changing its format soon. Exciting!
■ EwA Fieldwork (& Resources)
We are monitoring weekly at all sites now (including scouting Horn Pond to set phenology and entomology survey sites). Our biodiversity and habitat documentation fieldwork is also as healthy as ever thanks to our group of core citizen scientists who simply rock!
🗺️ EwA Sites Map | 🌱 Site Protocols and Guides - Field Rosters - Field Notes > All here! | ℹ️ More About EwA Citizen Science Program » here
To all of you: Stay healthy!
Any questions❓ Don't be shy. Just email me or reply to this thread.
Thanks and Have a great week! - Claire
🧡 Make an impact - Help our #ScienceForAll program.
Become an EwA Ambassador today! » https://www.earthwiseaware.org/donate/
Photo: Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) | iNaturalist record © Jennifer Clifford